Elena Baltacha out of French Open

Elena Baltacha's French Open campaign came to an end in the second round with a 4-6 6-1 6-4 defeat by Vania King at Roland Garros this afternoon.

The 27-year-old had won her first main-draw match on the Paris clay on Tuesday against Sloane Stephens but fellow American King proved just too consistent for Baltacha.

The British number one is renowned for her fighting spirit and, after going 2-0 down, she won four games in a row to take charge of the first set, which she eventually clinched on her fourth set point.

One previous opportunity had been lost with an air shot on a smash but Baltacha recovered impressively to move ahead.

The match had been very tight, though, and King responded to the setback by immediately taking control of the second set. By the time Baltacha won a game, the American was already 5-0 up, and she was soon back on level terms.

King maintained her grip on the match at the start of the third set, taking a 3-0 lead, and, although Baltacha limited the damage to one break of serve, that was enough for her 22-year-old opponent to secure the win and a third-round meeting with ninth seed Petra Kvitova.