Fran Jones’ fightback proved in vain as she lost in the second round of the French Open to 27th seed Marie Bouzkova.
Jones was hugely emotional after posting her first grand slam main draw win against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round on Sunday.
Like her good friend Emma Raducanu, who played on the same court in her first-round defeat, Jones recovered admirably from losing 10 of the first 11 games only to ultimately go down 6-0 7-6 (3).
The defeat means Katie Boulter, who takes on Anastasia Potapova in the same round on Thursday, is the last British singles player remaining.
Jones’ tears three days ago came partly from the challenges she has overcome as a result of the genetic condition Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia, which means she only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand and seven toes, but mainly from what has been an incredibly tough season.
Having started the year ranked 72, Jones dropped outside the top 100 after a gluteal injury at the Australian Open was followed by a troubling concussion suffered in a freak gym accident.
Jones was completely outplayed by Czech Bouzkova for a set and a half but began to cause her opponent some trouble with her heavy forehand and clawed her way back from 4-1 to 4-4.
She made it four games in a row but twice missed the opportunity to serve out the set and force a decider before Bouzkova took six points in succession to win the tie-break and the match.
The good news for Jones is that her first-round win should be enough to lift her ranking back into double figures and she will hope she can keep her momentum going on the grass.
