Watson's French Open hopes ended in first round of qualifying

French Open 2025

Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros, Paris

Coverage: Live power commentaries crossed 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, positive unrecorded matter commentaries connected nan BBC Sport website and app

Heather Watson's hopes of reaching nan French Open main tie are complete but chap Briton Fran Jones progressed to nan 2nd information of qualifying.

Watson, aiming for an 11th main-draw quality astatine Roland Garros, mislaid 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to Australian Daria Saville.

Jones defeated Croatia's Lea Boskovic 6-2 6-3 to group up a gathering pinch Japan's Mai Hontama.

Players person to travel done 3 qualifying rounds successful Paris to scope nan main draw.

Britain's Jan Choinski exited successful nan opening information of men's qualifying, losing 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to Italian Giulio Zeppieri.

Britons Dan Evans and Billy Harris spell head-to-head successful men's qualifying later connected Tuesday.

The French Open - nan 2nd Grand Slam of nan twelvemonth - originates connected Sunday.

Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are already successful nan women's main draw, while Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie will title nan men's.

Momentum swung backmost and distant successful nan opening group betwixt Watson and Saville, pinch nan Briton rallying to a 4-2 lead aft initially going a break down, only for Saville to level up.

Watson, classed 4 places higher than Saville astatine 130, battled backmost from 40-0 down connected service to move wrong 1 crippled from nan opening set, but she was incapable to return her first group point.

A tie-break was confirmed by different speech of breaks - but not earlier Watson initially refused to proceed nan lucifer aft being fixed a 2nd clip usurpation by nan chair umpire.

She claimed she had been waiting for a shot to beryllium returned to her, alternatively than deliberately delaying nan point, but nan umpire disagreed.

Saville yet stepped successful and asked nan umpire to springiness Watson her first service back.

The Australian erstwhile world number 20 past dominated nan tie-break and carried that momentum into nan 2nd set, quickly establishing a 3-0 lead.

Watson concisely threatened a comeback erstwhile she collapsed backmost for 3-2, but Saville was capable to reset and closed retired triumph pinch different three-game streak.

Jones, classed 113th, produced a ascendant show to spot disconnected Boskovic - losing service for nan first clip erstwhile serving for nan lucifer earlier recovering to adjacent it retired astatine nan 2nd attempt.

The 24-year-old is aiming to suffice for nan 2nd overseas slam of her career, having reached nan Australian Open main tie successful 2021.