YORKSHIRE'S last link in the women's singles was snuffed out tonight in the Aegon Ilkley Trophy.

British No 9 Tara Moore, whose grandparents are from Doncaster, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Japan's No 3 Misa Eguchi in the first round of the $50,000 ITF Women's Pro Circuit Tournament.

Grass is the 22-year-old Moore's favourite surface, and she has played in the women's singles at Wimbledon for the past two years, but she could not quite string enough points together to reach the last 16 at Ilkley.

"I had it in me to take the match to three sets but she played well," reflected an emotional Moore afterwards.

Maybe she realised it was not going to be her night when she broke a string in her racket on returning serve on the first point of the match, and especially when an unused linesman's chair blew over after she had hit a winning forehand at game point to the Japanese at 3-1 in the first set.

Unfairly, the point had to be replayed, and Moore ultimately lost it. She battled to the end but went down in an hour and six minutes.

Katy Dunne, who is ranked sixth in Britain, was even more emotional after losing 6-1, 6-3 to France's experienced No 7 Stephanie Foretz in 56 minutes on an adjacent court. It was the 20-year-old's eight straight defeat.