Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha lose in straight sets
Friday 29 June 2012
Related articles
Olympians Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha were unable to follow Heather Watson into Wimbledon's third round yesterday, both losing in straight sets.
In the morning Keothavong was blown away 6-1, 6-1 in one hour, one minute by Sara Errani, the French Open finalist and No 10 seed. In the evening, on the same No 2 court, Baltacha looked like suffering even greater embarrassment when she endured a 22-minute first set whitewash against defending champion Petra Kvitova, then went 0-4 down in the second. An ignominious first 'double bagel' of her career loomed, but she dug in to make Petrova work for victory before losing 6-0, 6-4.
"She was just like blasting it past me in that first set," said Baltacha. "As soon as you show her a second serve, that's it. You're in trouble. Your energy drops and that's it, you know. Before you know it, you're like, you're bageled. But in the second set she had a little bit of a dip and I managed to climb my way back. Then she showed her class at the end."
Keothavong started nervously and was 4-0 down within quarter of an hour. She began the second game by holding her serve but that proved a false dawn as her Italian opponent rattled through the rest of the match. "It was always going to be a tough match," said Keothavong, "but I'm disappointed with my own performance because I know I can play better. I didn't challenge her today as much as I would have liked and to lose in that fashion is not particularly pleasing. I was not sharp enough. It happens."
"I was nervous. It's Wimbledon. I think everyone is nervous before they go out there, but I just forced it a bit too much. I felt I had to be the one who was aggressive because I'm not going to win trying to out-rally her, she's better at that than I am. She didn't hit me off the court, I hit myself off the court."
At 28 the world No.77 is in danger of being eclipsed by rising stars Heather Watson and Laura Robson but she insisted she has not intention of quitting. "I have been around for a while, but there are girls older than me who are still out there winning slams and doing really well. I still enjoy what I'm doing and I still feel like I can improve. Today's performance wasn't very good, and I know that. But I also know it's just one match. I'm capable of playing better tennis. As long as I'm still enjoying it and as long as I'm fit and healthy, there are worse ways to make a living."
Baltacha, with her injury history, has thought about retiring but now says she's taking it week-to-week. "I love competing. Probably more so now than I kind of ever have before. If I still really enjoy it, if I still believe I'm improving and I still love it, then I'll carry on. If I get to a week where I say I don't want to do it anymore, then I will stop. At the moment I want to keep going."
Both now have the Olympics at Wimbledon to look forward to after confirmation of their singles selection on Wednesday. "Every time I think of the Olympics, I'm just over the moon about the selection," said Keothavong. "It's something new. It's something special. And the fact that it's in London... I'm superpumped about it."
Baltacha, using the same footballer-terminology, said: "I'm so like over the moon. It's going to be amazing."
Sport blogs
iBet: Look To The Lady In The Prince Of Wales
The Prince of Wales Stakes today is regarded by many as the No1 race of the Royal Ascot meeting and ...
by Gareth Purnell
19 June 2013 02:01 AM
iBet: Favourites have a good record in the Coventry stakes
Today’s St James Palace looks a cracker and there has been sustained money for Dawn Approach since t...
by Gareth Purnell
18 June 2013 02:01 AM
Newcastle don’t need a football director – they need a new medical team after finishing bottom of the injury league
Newcastle United have shocked their fans by appointing Joe Kinnear as director of football but new f...
by Alex Miller
17 June 2013 04:39 PM
-
ACT Brumbies v British and Irish Lions - player ratings
-
Liverpool close in on £6m Spanish winger Luis Alberto
-
In pictures: Royal Ascot 2013 - Opening day
-
Exclusive: Cristiano Ronaldo advised to stay at Real Madrid for further 18 months before making possible switch to Manchester United
-
Italy Under-21s 2 Spain Under-21s 4 match report: Thiago Alcantara's hat-trick seals European Championship for Spanish youngsters
- 1 Diary of Second World War German teenager reveals young lives untroubled by Nazi Holocaust in wartime Berlin
- 2 Bosses of collapsed banks should be sent to jail, banking standards commission tells George Osborne
- 3 Breaking the Silence: In the reality of occupation, there are no Palestinian civilians – only potential terrorists
- 4 Uri Geller psychic spy? The spoon-bender's secret life as a Mossad and CIA agent revealed
- 5 Vice pulls 'breathtakingly tasteless' fashion shoot glorifying the suicides of famous female authors from Sylvia Plath to Virginia Woolf
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
How will you make today delicious?
Tell us how you plan to make today delicious and you could win a £50 M&S gift card.
Learn a new language
Add another string to your bow with Rosetta Stone, whether it's Spanish, Italian or Mandarin...
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention
Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title




Comments