Qualifying for a Grand Slam can be a difficult path to navigate.
US Open qualifying is well underway, and a number of British players have contested their first-round matches.
On day one, Jodie Burrage, Jay Clarke and Billy Harris all won their first round contest at Flushing Meadows. Dan Evans, on the other hand, was defeated by former world number 31 Lloyd Harris.
On day two, there were mixed results amongst the British contingent. A former British number one exited the competition, while a former Wimbledon mixed doubles finalist advanced.
One Brit came agonisingly close to advancing.
Jack Pinnington Jones squanders three match points in US Open qualifying
Jack Pinnington Jones, who stunned Tomas Etcheverry in the Wimbledon first round earlier this year, faced off against Kazakhstani player Beibit Zhukayev.
Pinnington Jones, ranked 197 on the ATP Tour, contested an almighty battle on Tuesday.
After taking the opening set, the British star was pegged back in a second-set tiebreak, losing it by eight points to six.
The final set also went to a tiebreak. The tiebreak was first to 10, rather than first to seven.
Pinnington-Jones led the tiebreak by eight points to four, before eventually losing by 14 points to 12.
The 22-year-old had three match points during the contest, but failed to convert any of them.
On Pinnington-Jones’ final match point, he hit a double fault: striking a wild second serve well wide and long.
How did other Brits fare on day two?
Some British players shared the same fate as Pinnington Jones on day two of US Open qualifying.
Jan Choinski, who produced a magical run to qualify for the 2024 US Open, lost in straight sets to Argentina’s Andrea Collarini.
It was a similar story for George Loffhagen, who also lost his first round match in straight sets.
Former British number one Heather Watson suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Ekaterine Gorgodze. Despite taking the first set, Watson went on to eventually lose 6-3 3-6 4-6.
However, two British players managed to advance to the second round on day two of US Open qualifying. Harriet Dart, the 2021 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles finalist, came through an almighty tussle against 13th seed Anca Todoni, winning 7-5 6-7 7-6.
Francesca Jones, who is the number one seed in US Open qualifying, defeated Viktória Hrunčáková 6-3 6-4.
Oliver Crawford, who stunned his peers by reaching the second round of Wimbledon, also won his first round of US Open qualifying, 5-7 6-4 6-4 against Alex Bolt.
Jones will play Heather Watson’s conqueror, Ekaterine Gorgodze, in the second round. Dart will face America’s Ayana Akli and Crawford is scheduled to face Garrett Johns.
Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones, Jay Clarke, Billy Harris and Oliver Crawford are all scheduled to play their second rounds of US Open qualifying on Wednesday.
