\n The 2021 Eastbourne champion defeated Jones in just over an hour, as a difficult run-in to The Championships, Wimbledon continued for the British No.4 from West Yorkshire.\n<\/p>\n
\n Keighley\u2019s Jones will now turn her attention to the jewel in the grass court swing\u2019s crown, which starts on Monday 29 June.\n<\/p>\n
\n Jones said: \u201cWhen Jelena has a good day, she has a good day. She\u2019s pretty difficult to beat and she\u2019s won here before, she\u2019s very good on the grass.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a really tough year for me, I\u2019ve had a lot of ups and downs and I\u2019m actually not playing bad tennis at all right now.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ve not been exposed to that higher level [of competition] very often. The frustration of getting injured at my career high was that if you stay within your ranking bracket, you get exposed to this level consistently.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s really good for me to see what the differences are, getting that exposure as I\u2019m still so young in my tennis career.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Ostapenko broke Jones\u2019s serve in the first game and broke the world No.103 again at 5-2, before winning the first set 6-2 in 31 minutes.\n<\/p>\n
\n Jones threatened to break back with the score at 2-1, but Ostapenko held on. The Latvian won nine of the last ten points in the first set.\n<\/p>\n
\n The second set followed the same pattern as the first, with Ostapenko breaking Jones in her opening service game.\n<\/p>\n
\n Brit Jones saved two match points before her Grand-Slam champion adversary secured a 6-2 6-2 win.\n<\/p>\n
\n A former French Open champion in 2017, Ostapenko will face Hungarian opposition in the second round, against either Panna Udvardy or Anna Bondar who play their first-round match on Tuesday 23 June.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ostapenko stormed to the title five years ago as a wildcard, defeating future Grand Slam contenders Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina, before reaching the final in 2022.\n<\/p>\n
\n She is already part of an illustrious list of women\u2019s draw winners on the South Coast, including Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Karol\u00edna Pl\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1.\n<\/p>\n
\n Australian defending champion Maya Joint was knocked out in the first round by Colombian qualifier Emiliana Arango in straight sets 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.\n<\/p>\n
\n This year, the 2026 Lexus Eastbourne Open also hosts a WT500 wheelchair tournament from Thursday 25 June, celebrating 50 years of the wheelchair game.\n<\/p>\n
\n All three events come to a thrilling conclusion a day earlier than normal on Saturday 27 June, with a bonanza of finals tennis on the lawns of Eastbourne.\n<\/p>\n