Jones beats finger injury to book a place in the Aussie Open
YORKSHIRE’S Francesca Jones overcame a finger injury and a ‘wee mental breakdown’ to reach the main draw of a grand slam for the first time.
The 20-year-old from Bradford booked her place at the Australian Open with a 6-0 6-1 victory over Lu Jia-jing in the final round of qualifying.
Jones, who was born with a congenital condition that means she has eight fingers and seven toes, produced a dominant display just days after she feared an injury would damage her performance levels.
She said: “Before the first few days before my match, I was speaking to my coach and I was saying that my fingers had actually split from the cold in the UK and I couldn’t hold the racket too well on my forehand side.
“The forehand is my best shot so I had a wee mental breakdown before the match to be honest. It was a few days before the match and my fingers were still cut and I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to take advantage of my weapon.
“I think I was probably well prepared in terms of physically and mentally because I had a lot of time during pre-season and we worked really hard.
“I tried to trust the work that we did but I am quite a perfectionist so I do worry about the days that I didn’t hit the forehand exactly the way that I should have done or I wasn’t serving well.”
The British number five’s condition means she has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on one foot and four toes on the other, but she does not feel that has held her back at all.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve ever reached a low point due to my syndrome. I stand by what I’ve said previously which is I try and use it as a positive and I see it as an advantage in many ways,” Jones said.