Heather Watson through in Eastbourne's Aegon International

Heather Watson has never gone further than the third round of Wimbledon

British number one Heather Watson registered her first win of the grass-court season with victory over Varvara Lepchenko in the Aegon International.

Guernsey's Watson, 23, battled to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 first-round success over the 38th-ranked American in Eastbourne.

She will face 11th seed Elina Svitolina in the next round on Tuesday.

"I was super, super motivated today. I just felt really good and excited to play. Being here at home I always feel extra motivated," Watson said.

Watson lost in the first round of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham last week to qualifier Aleksandra Krunic.

And the world number 63 had pulled out of an event in Nottingham earlier in the month because of an elbow injury.

British teenager Harriet Dart was beaten 6-1 6-3 by 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova.

London's Harriet Dart was making her WTA Tour debut

Slovak Cibulkova, the world number 49, is playing in her first tournament since February having been sidelined following surgery on her Achilles.

Dart, 18, was given a wildcard into the main draw at Eastbourne and has received a wildcard into the qualifying draw for Wimbledon.

Number one seed Petra Kvitova pulled out of the tournament through illness on Monday, a week before the start of her Wimbledon title defence.

Tuesday's opening match on centre court will be Britain's Johanna Konta against the Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Makarova, after their second-round meeting was postponed because of rain on Monday.