China's Wang Qiang returns a shot against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in the third round of the 2018 French Open on June 1, 2018, at Roland Garros. (Photo: VCG)

China’s last remaining hope in the singles draw of the 2018 French Open was eliminated in the third round on Friday, as Wang Qiang went down 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva at Roland Garros.

Wang had already outdone her personal best on the red clay in Paris, as she reached the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time. The 26-year-old’s opening round win over American great Venus Williams garnered tremendous attention in China, and even conjured up comparisons with retired compatriot Li Na, whose major breakthrough came at the 2011 French Open.

Going up against her training partner Putintseva, the 78th-ranked Chinese player conceded one game in the first set, and then rallied to build a 3-1 lead. Putintseva suffered a series of failures on her returns, and was often seen throwing her racquet onto the court. Wang went on to win the opening frame 6-1, but had a much tougher time in the second, which Putintseva took 7-5.

Wang then led 3-0 in the decider, before her 23-year-old opponent came back strong by winning five consecutive games with powerful forehands and drop shots.

Wang managed to stem Putintseva’s momentum by cutting her lead to one, but the Kazakh wraps things up in the tenth game at 6-4. Her three-set triumph eliminated the final Chinese player left in the singles draw in Paris.

Putintseva will face Barbora Strycova next. As for Wang, she's disappointed that her French Open campaign is over, and blamed a lack of concentration for not seeing the match through.

“I had a pretty good start today by winning the first set, and then going on to lead 4-0 in the second,” she said. “It was just a pity that my mind wasn’t strong enough.”

Prior to Wang’s exit, Duan Yingying, Zheng Saisai, and Wang Yafan bowed out in the first round, while Zhang Shuai and Peng Shuai crashed out during Thursday’s second round matches.