Heather Watson loses to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon

Watson's defeat means Andy Murray is the only Briton left in the singles

Heather Watson's Wimbledon campaign ended in the second round with a three-set defeat by German ninth seed Angelique Kerber on Centre Court.

The British number one fought back well after a poor first set, but Kerber took the decider to win 6-2 5-7 6-1.

Watson, 22, had been hoping to beat a top-10 player for the first time, and match her best effort at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round.

Kerber goes on to face Belgian 24th seed Kirsten Flipkens in the last 32.

The result means defending champion Andy Murray is the last Briton remaining in the singles events.

"When I walked off the court I was very upset," said Watson. "I started very poorly. A lot of unforced errors, didn't serve very well. The set kind of went just very quickly."

Watson made a nervous start on a half-full Centre Court, as spectators headed for refreshment following Rafael Nadal's win over Lukas Rosol in the previous match.

The atmosphere was flat in the early stages and the Briton struggled to get going, making only 50% of her first serves and leaking errors from the baseline as Kerber took the first set in 29 minutes.

Watson has employed a more attacking game plan as she has battled up the rankings to number 60, after slipping out of the top 100 following illness and injury in 2013.

It served her well last week when she claimed a first top-20 win against Flavia Pennetta in Eastbourne, but she could not rediscover that form consistently enough to get past Kerber.

If her game was patchy, the Briton's grit and determination was as reliable as ever, and she hauled her way back into a contest that looked to be slipping away in straight sets.

Watson brought the home crowd alive as she twice recovered breaks in the second set, saving four break points at 4-4, and bringing herself right back into the match when she converted a third set point in game 12.

The errors crept back into her game at the start of the third, however, and she netted a volley to lose serve in the opening game before a pumped-up Kerber went a double-break clear at 3-0.

There was one more flash of resistance from Watson with a backhand cross-court winner to recover one of the breaks, but Kerber took the final three games as the Briton's challenge finally flickered out.

"I am very pleased with where I am now - it was a very tough year for me last year," added Watson.

"The way the year's gone so far, if somebody would've told me that from the beginning of the year, after the year I had last year, I would've taken it."

Kerber, a semi-finalist in 2012, told BBC Sport: "It was a really tough match. Heather is a great, talented player and I am really happy I won.

"I was trying to be aggressive and focus on the moment. Heather has a very good future and I wish her all the best, she is a great player and a great personality."

Watson and Kerber began in a half-empty Centre Court after a lengthy match beforehand

Watson was trying to match her best Wimbledon run from 2012, when she reached the third round

Kerber is a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist and took charge in the final set

Watson fought hard but missed out on a first top-10 win of her career