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Baltacha's brave run halted by Stosur in quarters

Sam Stosur was too good for Elena Baltacha © Getty Images

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Elena Baltacha's stirring run at the AEGON International, which has done much to restore faith in British women's tennis ahead of Wimbledon, was halted at the quarter-final stage by world No. 7 Sam Stosur.

Baltacha matched her celebrated opponent every step of the way in the first set, but her game - particularly her serve - slowly unravelled as the match went on.

In the end Stosur cruised to a 6-7(5) 6-1 6-0 triumph, although Baltacha should be cheered by a career-high ranking when the list is released on Monday.

This was the first meeting between the two for six years - Stosur won last time out - and in the intervening period the Australian has propelled herself into the sharp end of the rankings, having nestled for a long period around a position just the wrong side of 50.

Stosur has been one of the form players on the WTA Tour this year, with 32 wins and a place in the final of the French Open - where she lost to Francesca Schiavone - to her name before arriving in Eastbourne. She has, like Baltacha, never been past the third round on the plush green surface offered at Wimbledon, however.

With that similar record, it was no surprise to see that there was little to separate them during a cagey and tightly-fought first set. Both players had struggles with their serves - Stosur could not get her first attempts in, while Baltacha's second deliveries were asking to be hit - but neither was able to take advantage.

It was Balatcha who belatedly landed a decisive blow in the contest by winning the tiebreak - but her joy was to be short lived. Stosur immediately hit back at the start of the second by sealing a break - the first of the match - and then another, using her momentum to romp to the set for the loss of a mere 17 points.

Kim Clijsters was dumped out © Getty Images

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The Brit had been forced to endure a similar second-set wobble in her previous match at Eastbourne, against Jie Zheng, before casting off the shackles of that disappointment to seal victory. There was to be no repeat here - Baltacha's service rhythm deserted her, allowing Stosur to break at will on her way to the last four.

Kim Clijsters was the shock exit on Tuesday after she slumped to a 7-6(8) 6-4 reverse at the hands of Victoria Azarenka, who knocked out Heather Watson in the previous round.

Clijsters had looked unstoppable earlier in the tournament - dismissing Lucie Safarova in 38 minutes - but she will need to let consistency creep into her game if she is to go beyond her previous best of a semi-final at Wimbledon.

Marion Bartoli, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2007, looks to be rumbling into form in good time to be a contender at the All England Club. She edged past Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 5-7 6-4 7-6(5) in a shade under three hours of action, while Ekaterina Makarova defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 7-5.

At the Unicef Open, Justine Henin breezed past Kristina Barrois 7-5 6-3 in 81 minutes. She will be joined in the semi-finals by Alexandra Dulgheru, Andrea Petkovic and Kirsten Flipkens.

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