Britain’s singles hopes at the US Open officially ended on Thursday evening, as Francesca Jones was knocked out in a gritty battle against rising American talent Iva Jovic, 6-4, 6-4. Jones was the last Briton standing by virtue of the scheduling, the final match on Court 17 – the so-called ‘weed court’ – where she has previously played a number of qualifying matches. And in the first set, Jones put up more than enough fight to spare the blushes of her compatriots in the second round of the women’s draw, Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, who managed just five games between them in their straight-sets losses. When Jovic grabbed the opening break, Jones’ support may have feared the worst. The 18-year-old is already the 14th seed in Flushing Meadows, and has a fluid game style built on soaking up pressure and firing back bullets that may one day see her snap up the No1 seeding here. After a run of three games, Jones stopped the rot with a break of Jovic’s serve, and the match really began. Jones is nothing if not a fighter. Describing how ‘Northern grit’ got her over the line in her stop-start, weather-disturbed win against Magda Linette, that was on full display here as she grew into the game in front of a partisan home crowd, her feel for the ball improving quickly in the early stages. Jovic was put under pressure even in the games she won, with Jones frequently dogging her to deuce and keeping her foot on her opponent’s serve. The opening set stretched to 56 minutes. Just three minutes shy of Boulter’s entire star-crossed match against Karolina Muchova on Thursday. Francesca Jones was unable to get past rising American star Iva Jovic on a tough evening The 18-year-old is the 14th seed in Flushing Meadows but did not have an easy time against the British qualifierThe 25-year-old was able to hang tough in the rallies as she threw the book at Jovic, a variety of backhand slices splintering cross-court, deeply struck forehands, and the occasional net rush. But there was a mental game to be played here. ‘Confidence, it’s all about confidence,’ Jones’ coach told her in Spanish, almost a mother tongue since her move to Barcelona to train at the age of nine. With Jovic reaching deuce looking to pull off yet another break for 5-3, Jones listened, knuckled down, and pulled off the all-important hold. When Jovic’s class told to hand her the opening set, it looked for a moment as if Jones’ race was run. Four games on the run were gobbled up by Jovic, her spot in the third round almost in touching distance. But the Briton stayed cool, and continued to construct her points well. Suddenly, she had three break-point opportunities. One and two came and went, but as Jones wafted a sky-high moonball over to Jovic, she blinked, and fumbled her shot into the net. Finally, a game on the board. All about confidence? Jones sent some racquets off for re-stringing. That can take about 20 minutes. She was digging in. As in the first set, Jovic looked to wrestle momentum back at 4-2. Again, Jones was in no mood to roll over. A wicked backhand ladened with unpredictable spin was too much for Jovic, and pulled back one break point, and three deuces eventually handed the hold to Jones a second time. But Jovic chose a good time to serve well, and fast. For the first time since the very start of the match, the teenager was efficient in her hold. The conditions were steamy even as the clock ticked towards 9pm, and off-court relief beckoned. But as she looked to break Jones, her rival’s dangerous slice again held back the tide, mulching two match-point opportunities for Jovic and allowing her to carry off a gutsy hold. With sweat pouring off both of the players, ball kids used the break to mop the court. Jovic would have to do it on her own racquet, and with nerveless cool, shrugged off the late drama of a missed net cord to serve out the match. Her win in straight sets undersells how hard she had to fight against a player in Jones who won her first ever US Open main draw match on Wednesday. British No2 – and onetime world No8 – Cameron Norrie was the first Briton with direct entry into the main draw to fall on the opening day’s play, with defeat to French 22-year-old Luca van Assche. Other first-round casualties included Arthur Fery, who lost in straight sets to Lorenzo Musetti, and Jan Choinski, who was despatched by the same scoreline to Botic van de Zandschulp. Qualifier Harry Wendelken was unable to see his strong form which gained him entry into the tournament proper translate against the No21 seed Luciano Darderi. But fellow qualifiers Toby Samuel and Jacob Fearnley fared a little better, reaching the second round. Samuel put in a particularly bold performance against Tomas Machac, feasting on the inconsistent Czech to take him in straight sets. Fearnley meanwhile qualified as a lucky loser, and proved why he deserved his spot with an extended, heavily rain-delayed first-round victory against Martin Landaluce. Both however fell in the second-round, with Samuel another victim of a challenging draw against Jiri Lehecka, and Fearnley leaving a fightback in the third set too late to make it stick against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. All three British women in the draw, Dart, Jones, and Boulter, made it to the second round.