Jill Pittard could only accept she had been beaten by a better player after her Yonex All England Open Champion-ships dreams ended in the second round.
The Coventry player bowed out 11-3, 11-3 against Germany's Juliane Schenk. Pittard threatened a revival when she led 3-1 in the second set, but her opponent took control to progress in 30 minutes.
Pittard, the only member of England's elite squad to have a full-time job, admitted consistency was the difference. "I'm disappointed but I'm not, because I played alright," said the England No 3.
"I played as well as I could, but she was better than me.
"She was more consistent and that comes down to her being full-time and having more time to practice."
For Pittard, though, it will be a return to the day job today when she clocks in at the Land Rover plant at Gaydon, where she works as a calibration engineer.
"I'll be up at 5am to start work at 6am but it's only a half-day until noon," said Pittard. "Then I'll go training with a five-mile run and some cycling."
Tracey Hallam was the last English singles player to bow out after losing to Cheng Shao-Chieh. The England No 1 from Burton-on-Trent went down 11-9, 13-10, having hauled her way back to 10-10 from 3-10 down and then saving three match-points.
It was a case of two down, three to go as England's brightest title hopes, Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, moved into the quarter-finals of the mixed.
The reigning champions, seeded three, were comfortable 15-5, 15-3 winners over Danish pair Jonas Rasmussen and Britta Andersen to set up a match this evening against sixth seeds Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen. Robertson and Emms' record against the Chinese duo stands at 1-1 and they know they will need to be on the top of their game.
"Everything has gone according to plan so far," said Robertson. "We've had the perfect start with two comfortable victories, but we know we will need to raise the level of our performance against Xie and Zhang."
The last Midland hope departed when Chris Tonks, from Solihull, and partner Chris Langridge lost in the men's doubles' second round. The young English pair took an early lead against France's Mihail Popov and Svetoslav Stoyanov but they slipped out 15-7, 15-12 in 48 minutes. ..SUPL:
