Baltacha books her place in main draw at Indian Wells

BRITAIN'S number one Elena Baltacha has eased her way into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California with a comfortable straight sets victory over Ekaterina Bychkova of Russia.

ON A ROLL: British number one Elena Baltacha cruises into the main draw at Indian Wells (Getty Images)

Baltacha, 26, who is currently ranked 65th in the world, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory to book a first-round clash with American wildcard Alexa Glatch.

Glatch, 20, is ranked 154th in the world and should Baltacha prove victorious, the Ukrainian-born Scot will face seventh seed Li Na in the second round.

Baltacha, who was the top seed in the qualifying draw, is joined in the first round by former British number one Anne Keothavong, who has recently recovered from a serious knee injury.

"I've never played Glatch before but I've had two matches already on these courts and I'm feeling confident about chalking up another  win," said Baltacha.

Andy Murray, the other Brit in action in California, is seeded fourth and has a bye to the second round where he will face either Andreas Seppi or Robby Ginepri.