Baltacha high on confidence after second round win

ELENA Baltacha insisted her new-found confidence had made the vital difference after upsetting 30th seed Kateryna Bondarenko to equal her grand slam record and reach the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

NEW-FOUND CONFIDENCE: Elena Baltacha insists she is mentally tougher than ever after setting up a third round clash with Dinara Safina at the Australian Open (Getty Images)

The 26-year old reached the third round in Melbourne in 2005, before back surgery and illness in 2006 that saw the Scot vanish from the tennis circuit for a number of years.

But after breaching the top 100 for the first time at the end of last season, the Scot has continued her rapid progression to reach the third round again in Melbourne, upsetting 30th seed Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 7-5 to set up a glamour tie against former world number one Dinara Safina.

While the British number one struggled with cramp during her first round defeat of France's Pauline Parmentier on Monday, Baltacha admitted she had take measures to ensure a similar situation would not arise on Wednesday.

And without injury-problems hanging over her head, Baltacha insisted she was going into matches confident she was in control of her own destiny.

"There was no tension at all for me today," said the Scot. "On paper she was the better player but deep down I knew I could beat her and I feel fantastic now.

"I've come in with good form and I'm hitting the ball much better. My tennis has improved quite a few gears and I knew that I could go out there and just swing freely and take my game to her.

"I think the thing that's changed with me is confidence. I don't look back anymore. I used to do that a lot but I'm fed up with it and I just want to look forward from now.

"There was a dip at the beginning but I knew the first set was excellent and I knew that I could get it back because I've been playing so well for the last three weeks. "

Anne Keothavong, absent from Melbourne as she recovers from knee surgery, was the last Brit to take on Safina but was blown off court in a humiliating 6-0, 6-0 defeat in last year's French Open.

But the Russian has fallen from grace since reaching the final of last season's Australian and French Opens and crashed out in the third round in September's US Open to relative unknown Petra Kvitova.

And while Baltacha refused to make any guarantees of another upset, the Scot insisted she would go into the match just as she did against Bondarenko - with all guns blazing.

"I'm very excited about it," she admitted. "I've got nothing to lose and I'm just going to go for it.

"I have a day off tomorrow so I can recharge and then get going again on Friday.

"I've been working very hard on my conditioning so that helps in the heat and I've been out here for the past two weeks so I don't think that will be a problem.

"I'm just really excited now to get out there and give it a go."