British No. 3 backs up big win over billionaire tennis ace to reach Auckland quarter-final | Tennis | Sport
Francesca Jones earned the biggest win of her career at the ASB Classic in Auckland earlier this week, taking out world No. 15 Emma Navarro in the first round. And the British No. 3 followed it up with a comeback victory over Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus to reach the quarter-finals.
Jones struggled early on, losing the first set in just half an hour and trailing 3-0 in set two. But she raised her level and won 12 of the last 14 games, sealing a 1-6 6-3 6-1 victory to reach her fourth tour-level quarter-final.
“I tried to take myself out of the situation a little bit, forget what was happening, and try and start new,” Jones said after storming back from a set and break down.
“Just make it tougher, use my experience. But the conditions are so different during the day in comparison to the night, and it took me a while, clearly, to get used to it. And with her ball speed, it makes it even harder.
“When you feel so uncomfortable on the court, you ignore the momentum to an extent,” she said. “I know that I want to keep making her play every point. But honestly, it was very much point by point.”
The world No. 72 started her 2026 season on a high when she stunned Navarro in what was her first-ever match against a top-20 player. Navarro has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world, has won two career titles, and is a former US Open semi-finalist.
Her father, Ben, is worth £2.37m according to Forbes, and owns the Cincinnati Open and Charleston Open. But the world No. 15 is now on a three-match losing streak following her defeat to Jones.
After getting the biggest win of her career on Monday, the Brit said: “Trying to get ready for the season is always really complicated for every player. Emma can play a better level, everyone can play a better level, it’s about finding your feet. But, for me, just having the right attitude in the first match coming into the year is the most important thing, so thankfully I did that.”
Jones will now face No. 7 seed Wang Xinyu as she seeks a place in her third tour-level semi-final. And she’s not the only Brit going strong in Auckland this week. Katie Boulter, a wildcard this week, won her opening match and will meet No. 1 seed Elina Svitolina for a place in the quarters. And Sonay Kartal is through to the last 16 after taking out sixth seed Janice Tjen.
“There’s loads of positives. If you can get through a tough two-and-a-half-hour, three-set match at the start of the year, you know you’ve had a good pre-season and that the body’s feeling good. Extra court time at the beginning of the year isn’t a bad thing either,” Kartal said after winning 6-1 6-7(4) 6-3.
