Sixth seed Shahar Peer is through to the quarterfinals at Moorilla Hobart International.
A YouTube moment signalled the beginning of the end of Sacha Jones’ first tennis tournament as an Australian.
The former New Zealander lost her second round clash 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to Peer on Wednesday evening, more than seven-and-a-half hours after it had started on a rain-marred day.
She had made a good fist of her fight with the world No.37, leading the first set 2-0 early before forcing it into a tiebreaker.
Jones then reeled off four straight points to lead the decider 5-4 when disaster struck.
Faced with an absolute sitter of a smash to reach set point, the 21-year-old skied her shot so wildly it flew over a three metre sponsors’ wall and into the Domain Tennis Centre carpark.
Jones also went 2-0 up in the second set before Peer broke her in fourth and eighth games and converted her third match point to clinch the win.
Jones will be counting her lucky stars the tournament is not being broadcast on TV, although the net nerds might have some fun with the website broadcast.
She is unlikely to consider her first tournament since switching allegiance a failure, though, after knocking off top 100 players for the first time, Germany’s Kristina Barrois and Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova.
Peer, who reached the final in 2010, will meet Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals.
Second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues from Spain was sent packing by German qualifier Mona Barthel, 6-1 6-4.