HOW X FACTOR JONES IS BEATING ADVERSITY
Brit making it big despite missing fingers and toes
AgED eight, Francesca Jones was told by a doctor that her unusual physical condition meant she could forget any ideas about pursuing her tennis dream. Yet this morning the 20-year-old from Yorkshire needs to win just one more match to qualify for the Australian Open, after claiming her second victory over a former top 100 player in two days. Yesterday she overcame Croatia’s Jana Fett 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 in the preliminary event, being held in Dubai this year to restrict the numbers flying on to Melbourne for next month’s delayed grand Slam tournament. Jones has already achieved remarkable things to reach a world ranking of 241, considering she has only three fingers on each hand and is missing three toes from her feet. It is a result of being born with ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia, a genetic condition which meant she went through a series of operations during childhood. A win today against experienced Chinese player Lu Jiajing would see her name go in the main draw, with the likes of Serena Williams a potential opponent. She would be allowed to fly straight to Melbourne to serve a quarantine period, which she likened to appearing on reality TV. ‘It’s kind of cool,’ she said. ‘Like in the X Factor, you move on to the next stage. Simon Cowell tells you that you are through and you are on a flight to the live show. ‘That’s how I see it at the moment and it would be great to go to Australia, but my feet are very much on the ground. ‘I am playing a good player and that’s all I am focused on.’ The final qualifying round is one of the most nerve-shredding matches in tennis as the big time beckons, but it is just one more challenge for Jones, who is from Bradford but now trains in Barcelona. ‘I’ve had experiences that many haven’t at my age, and I think that’s moulded me into the person I am today,’ she said. ‘It will have had an impact on my mental strength and my mindset as a whole, but I am sure everyone goes through hardship and deals with adversity in their own way. Everyone’s story makes a person who they are.’ Proving the medical specialist wrong has been a driving force through her development, which has seen her play in the Wimbledon juniors and win five professional events on the lowest rungs of the pro tour. ‘His comments played a massive part in my life decisions and career commitments to date,’ she said. ‘I’ve always wanted to make my parents proud more than anything.’ Jones is a feisty baseliner with a solid all-round game who continually urges herself on. With an unusually small right hand she has needed wrist surgery and sometimes suffers problems with her fingernails, through having to hold the racket extra tight. She is ready, at short notice, to get on the charter flights being laid on to Australia this week. ‘Everything about our current situation globally is weird and unpredictable, and we have to adapt,’ she said. ‘Today it was quite obvious that I was nervous in the first set and obvious my opponent was nervous as well.’ British men’s No 3 Cam Norrie was this morning facing Sebastian Korda in the semi-final of the ATP season-opening event in Delray Beach Florida, after knocking out American Frances Tiafoe 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.