Konta and Robson both suffer early exits in Paris

Robson’s 6-2 6-2 loss to 28th seed Andrea Petkovic was no surprise, but great things are now expected of Konta at grand slams so her 6-2 6-3 defeat by Julia Goerges was a big disappointment.

Konta reached the fourth round at the US Open and then, stunningly, the semi-finals at the Australian Open, but she was never able to get into the match against Goerges.

The German is a streaky player who on her day is very dangerous and yesterday really was her day, with Goerges hitting 30 winners to only four from Konta.

But the British No 1 was far from downbeat afterwards.

Konta said: “I try to always do a really good job of leaving my work on the court. No one died. I’m healthy. Coming off court and seeing some players who are not feeling as healthy, I feel very grateful for that.

“I am a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get a hold into that match. However, I’m also very excited and motivated to keep improving. I’m not going to beat myself up too much. I think it’s always important to be kind to yourself.”

While Konta was all smiles, the same could not be said for Robson, who could find little positive in her performance.

Since 2014 and the start of the wrist problems that have derailed her career, Robson has not beaten a top-100 opponent and is languishing at 329 in the rankings.

Her ability to hit winners remains, but too often the 22-year-old relies solely on her power and a tally of 37 unforced errors in 16 games against Petkovic told its own story.

Robson said: “It’s hard to be positive right now. I feel like I had a lot of chances.

“There were a lot of games that went to deuce, and it was also my brain switching off at deuce every time, which sucks really. No other way of putting it.”