• French Open, Day Five

Baltacha bows out in Paris

ESPN staff
May 26, 2011
Elena Baltacha won the opening set against Vania King © Getty Images
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Elena Baltacha's bid to reach the third round of the French Open was stopped in its tracks by Vania King.

King battled back from a set down to claim a 4-6 6-1 6-4 victory and the American joins compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the third round.

Baltacha, who along with Heather Watson ended Britain's 17-year wait for a British woman to reach the second round at Roland Garros, looked set to go one better when she took the opening set.

But King bounced back and raced through the second set to force the match to a decider. The momentum had swung firmly in King's favour, and an early break put her in control. Baltacha battled valiantly, but was left to rue a series of errors, and King claimed the victory when a Baltacha return fizzed long.

"Thanks for all the messages everyone," a disappointed Baltacha wrote on her Twitter page. "Shame I couldn't get the win today but Vania was too good and very consistent."

King progresses to the third round for the first time, where she will meet ninth seed Petra Kvitova, who beat China's Zheng Jie 6-4 6-1.

The third round also proved a step too far for Watson, who was well beaten by Kaia Kanepi. Watson gave a good account of herself but found her Estonian opponent, the 16th seed, too strong and she was outclassed in a 6-1 6-3 defeat.

However, after coming through qualifying and winning her first-round match, Watson will be rewarded with a place in the world's top 100 when the new ranking list is published early in June.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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