Aljaz Bedene's French Open campaign ended in a second-round loss to Jiri Vesely.
The British number three had hoped to at least match last year's run, when he lost in round three to Novak Djokovic, but he was overpowered by Vesely.
The Czech, ranked five places below Bedene at 57, was in control for two sets and then recovered from dropping the third to win 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 with the light fading on Court Three.
It is something of a mystery that Vesely is not ranked higher given his big serve, groundstrokes and surprisingly deft touch on volleys and drop shots.
Bedene was again watched by several Lawn Tennis Association staff, including Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, despite having raised doubts about his long-term British future on Monday.
Bedene, who has been prevented from playing Davis Cup for Britain because he had already represented Slovenia, said he could switch back to his native country if it meant being able to compete in the Olympics.
He struggled to find the form that had carried him to 21 wins from his previous 24 matches in the early stages, dropping serve in the fourth game.
Any brief Bedene glimpses of hope were soon snuffed out by a big serve or forehand, while the 27-year-old did not help himself with 32 unforced errors.
The majority of those came in the opening two sets, and midway through the third he started to really trouble Vesely for the first time.
A double fault from the Czech gave Bedene the break for 4-3, which he converted into the set, and he was in the ascendancy at the start of the fourth.
But chances went begging and, when he double-faulted on break point at 3-4, it left Vesely serving for the match.
The Czech stumbled over the line, saving three break points before taking his second match point when a desperate Bedene forehand pass landed just wide.
After the match, Bedene insisted his comments about going back to Slovenia had been misinterpreted and that he remains committed to his fight to represent Great Britain.
The 27-year-old has been battling for two years to overturn an International Tennis Federation ban that bars players from playing for two different countries in Davis Cup or at the Olympics.
Asked on Monday if he would consider returning to the Slovenian flag if his fight was unsuccessful, Bedene said: "At the moment I'm representing Great Britain, but I do want to play Olympic Games. I'll have to see on that what can be done."
After losing in the second round of the French Open to Jiri Vesely, Bedene claimed he had been talking about looking for other avenues to represent Britain.
He said: "When I said my dream is to play Olympic Games and I'll see what can be done, I meant I will contact (LTA lawyer) Stephen Farrow and speak to him and nothing else.
"So when I read those things online, it was awkward. It's not done for me. I've been fighting for so long to get a chance to play the Davis Cup and Olympic Games for GB, and I'm still hoping."
Asked again whether he would ever go back to playing for Slovenia, he added: "I haven't considered that at all. As I said, I want to play Olympic Games, but my first priority at the moment is to keep fighting and see what happens."