Scot Baltacha upbeat on Wimbledon chances

 ELENA Baltacha is convinced it is only a matter of time before she joins fellow Brit Anne Keothavong in the world's top 100.

LONG GAME: Elena Baltacha has vowed to finally break into the world's top 100 - seven years after reaching the third round at the All England Club

Baltacha - who lost to China's Li Na at the AEGON International - has been handed a wildcard to secure an eighth appearance at Wimbledon next week.

But it's now seven years since she reached the third round, her promising career jolted by a succession of injuries and dips in form.

However, this has been a more consistent season for the 25-year old Scot, who insisted she saw positives from her defeat in Eastbourne.

"I'm not too disappointed with how it went," said Baltacha.

"I learned so much from that match. At the moment I'm not good enough to beat a player of that calibre.

"But the positive thing is that I'm only a little bit away and I'm sure I can make that leap. I've said that in the past but this time I really believe it.

"I'm at 105 in the world now and that's the highest I've ever been and everything is going really well.

"I have a fantastic back-up team and it's fantastic to have everything done so professionally - I know the results will follow."

Baltacha will stay on the south coast to continue training this week but insists she will fear no-one when the women's singles draw is announced on Friday.

"No matter who I have at Wimbledon I'm feeling very confident," she added.

"I'm playing really well and I can't wait to get to Wimbledon. It's the best tournament in the world.

"But I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to get a result at Wimbledon and maybe that will help me.

"I don't need to be trying to hard or getting anxious because my shots are coming off well and everything has improved.

"You've got to be positive and look forward. Last year was a hard year but at the moment everything is positive and I can't wait to get to the All England Club."

 * Leading life assurance and pensions company AEGON is lead partner of British Tennis and is backing the sport at all levels, from grass roots to world class tennis events. For tickets and further information visit www.lta.org.uk