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Earlier this month, Johanna Konta reached No6 in the world to become the highest-ranked woman in British tennis since Jo Durie 33 years ago. On day three of the French Open, Konta lost in three sets to Hsieh Su-wei, a 31-year-old doubles specialist from Taiwan who is 101 places below her in the rankings and had not beaten anyone in the top 20 since she hit a rare purple patch in Melbourne nine years ago.

Statistically and in several other ways, this was Konta’s worst defeat since she lost to Kristina Kucova, a qualifier ranked 121, in Montreal last year. Three times she has made the main draw here; three times she has left at the first time of asking. As much as she loves the food, the tennis in Paris is not to her liking, although she feels she is improving on clay.

“I know results-wise it doesn’t reflect it necessarily but the conversations I have with my coach and the way I feel, I’ve actually made a lot of improvements on this surface with every match I played,” Konta said.

The evidence is not overwhelming. On clay this year, she has lost to Simona Halep in the Fed Cup, against Anastasija Sevastova in Stuttgart, and to Laura Siegemund in Madrid. She played better in Rome before losing in three sets to Venus Williams.

The British No1 has four weeks to soothe the hurt of the numbing statistics and the tough questions before she seeks reassurance about her level on the grass of Wimbledon, and says she will play all three lead-up tournaments. It might just be enough time.

While losing to Hsieh was surely more dispiriting than losing to her peers, Konta insists she is not suffering from the expectation of others.

“Most importantly, I play tennis for myself and for my own enjoyment,” she said. “I’m a very lucky person in the sense I get to do something I love on a daily basis. If I were to approach every match and every tournament according to external expectations, I think that would be quite a difficult existence.

“All I can promise whenever I go out on court is that I will always do my best. Whether that comes away with a win or a loss, I don’t know. That depends a lot on the day, a lot on the level I can produce, and also what my opponent can produce on the day.”

On this day, she had the unusual experience of returning a few side-arm serves from her opponent, who said later: “I like to do some different stuff, I think it’s quite fun.”

French Open 2017: Jo Konta crashes out to Hsieh Su-Wei in first round – live! Read more

Konta hit her way through the first set with rare freedom, and it was a joy to watch. Her flat forehand scorched the tape, her drop shots teased artfully and she served with power and confidence. There was hardly an element of her tennis not infused with chilling certainty. The set flew by in 23 minutes. An early lunch beckoned.

Then Hsieh’s grit kicked in. She took her licks, went for the lines and twice found herself in the lead. Konta blew a break chance and the mood changed. She had to save four break points in the eighth game, the longest and most competitive of the match, and was mightily grateful when Hsieh butchered the second of those with a loose smash.

Konta, ball in hand, saved set point, and continued to trust her shot-making all the way to the tie-break, where her bigger serve and viciously whipped forehand should have delivered their conclusive dividend but her composure deserted her. Those patrons slow to their seats on a balmy day got full value for their money in these later exchanges and could hardly have guessed at the drama to follow. Konta dumped a return of a weak second serve and they went to a decider.

What had earlier been a foregone conclusion had descended into a dogfight. Konta’s initial fluency had vanished. Hsieh’s self-belief surged, although she gave up chances here and there. She broke and held. Konta held to love. After two hours and seven minutes, Hsieh stepped up to serve for the match. The tournament’s main stadium went deadly quiet.

Hsieh looked as if she might fold at 15-40 but clawed her way to deuce with a sublime dropshot. Konta, who has slipped to No8 since her breakthrough win in Miami in March, failed to nail any of the four break points that presented themselves and saved two match points. Her lightly regarded adversary, who might never again get inside the top 100, presented a routine first serve that sat up invitingly and Konta shoved the forehand return into the net.