Britain's Heather Watson was dumped out of the Australian Open after being beaten 6-3 6-0 by No 16 seed Elise Mertens.

After both players failed to hold their serve early, the Belgian began to hit her stride midway through the first set, breaking Watson for a second and third time to take the opener.

The second set was then a complete walkover for Mertens, who was beaten by the Brit last week at the Hobart International.

Watson managed to win just eight points in the entire set as her form collapsed to gift the world No 17 an easy route to the third round.

Mertens will now face CiCi Bellis as she appears to continue her collision course towards a fourth round tie with Wimbledon champion Simona Halep.

The Romanian takes on the only British woman left in the draw, Harriet Dart, in the second round after the qualifier from London beat Misaki Doi in one of the matches of the tournament so far.