• WTA Tour

Baltacha and Watson win Maryland openers

ESPN staff
July 26, 2011
Elena Baltacha wrapped up a straight sets win over Yaroslava Shvedova © Getty Images
Enlarge

British No. 1 Elena Baltacha gave her US Open preparations a major boost with victory at the Citi Open in Maryland.

Baltacha, seeded sixth at the inaugural College Park event, eased to a 6-2 7-6(5) win over Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova. The Scot raced through the opening set, but needed a tiebreak to seal the win and her place in the second round. Next up for Baltacha is Virginie Razzano, who beat Misaki Doi 6-2 6-2.

"So so happy with the win today," Baltacha posted on her Twitter page. "[It] was a toughy but so chuffed to be through."

On the other side of the draw, Heather Watson opened her hard-court campaign with an emphatic 6-4 6-1 win over Eleni Daniilidou. After clinching the opening set, Watson blazed to a 5-0 lead in the second before wrapping up an impressive victory.

The former US Open girls' champion will now meet Canada's Stephanie Dubois, who beat Sania Mirza 7-5 6-4.

With Britain boasting three women in the US Open for the first time since 1992, the third member of the trio, Anne Keothavong, is also in Maryland and plays her opening match against Alberta Brianti on Tuesday.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices