Baltacha faces top seed for French Open spot

ELENA Baltacha has joined Katie O'Brien in the final round of qualifying for the French Open.

STRONG PERFORMANCE: Elena Baltacha wins in Paris but faces the top seed next for a place in the first round of the French Open (Getty Images)

The Scot continued her encouraging recent form with a confident 6-1, 7-5 win over France's Stephanie Vongsouthi.

The British number four is now just one win from the reaching the first proper at Roland Garros for the first time ever.

However, she will now have to beat top seed Yaraslava Shvedova, a player with a career high ranking of 70.

O'Brien - the British number two - also won her second round qualifier to set up a decisive match with Holland's Arantxa Rus on Friday.

Andy Murray, Anne Keothavong and Melanie South have all automatically qualified for the main draw, which will take place in Paris on Friday morning.

World number three Murray is talking down his chances while Keothavong has reached the semi-final of the WTA Tour event in Warsaw.

BEEFED UP: Melanie South has been working on her fitness after automatically qualifying for the French Open, which starts in Paris this Sunday

It will be South's first appearance in Paris - having lost in the first round of qualifying for the past two years.

She has seen her ranking slip from 99 to 124 in the last two months - mainly due to her decision to focus on gym work to improve her fitness.

"I needed to get into better shape - that is why I've taken some time out," she said.

"If I'm serious about going further into the top 100, I need to improve my fitness

"This is the time of year I like the best and I'm really geared up for it."