Baltacha defeated at Wimbledon

YOU don’t judge a book on its cover – and you shouldn’t judge a tennis player on Wimbledon – or so claims Elena Baltacha.

DREAM IS OVER: Elena Baltacha will view her second round defeat at Wimbledon as a major missed opportunity

The British number two - the last remaining home woman in the draw - was hopeful of progressing to the third round for the second time in her career against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens, a player below her in the world rankings.

But her dreams of a show court date with top seed Dinara Safina - who beat Rossana De Los Rios 6-3, 7-5 - evaporated following a 7-5, 6-1 one- sided loss.

“You can’t judge what we’ve achieved recently in British women’s tennis just on a few days at Wimbledon,” said Baltacha.

“We can only give our best and as long as all of us are trying, what more can you expect from us?

“People get too obsessed with this one-week of the year. If we don’t do well here, it’s not the end of the world.

“There are four or five of us who are not far away from the world’s top 100 and that hasn’t happened for many years.

“People expect us to do so fantastic here otherwise we are deemed a failure but what about all the other tournaments that we play in?

“People don’t follow us the whole year and see the results that we are producing.”

Baltacha had beaten her opponent twice before and had high hopes, with a partisan and expectant home crowd at her back.

Victory would have moved the 25-year old inside the world's top 100 for the first time, securing her automatic invites to major championships, such as the US Open later this year.

And it would have eased the pressure on her British team-mates, after a barrage of criticism following their early Wimbledon exits.

But Baltacha's game simply fell apart when it mattered, as she lost eight of the last nine games in the match.

Her serve, one of her most powerful weapons, suddenly became powder-puff and a series of inexplicable unforced errors crept into her game as the pressure told.

She had started so well, gaining an early break to race into a 3-1 advantage.

But hard-won leads can evaporate quickly, especially on the grass.

And Flipkens - who is coached by the former head of British women's tennis Carl Maes - regained parity and then ruthlessly established control.

She edged a close fought first set but then broke her opponent with ease during the second set to secure progress in one hour and 17 minutes.

“I started well but for some reason I just could not keep it going,” added Baltacha.

“She made it difficult for me with her variety of shots and she served big. I’ve played her twice before and she’s never played like that against me.

“It was a great opportunity and a very winnable match. However, I knew it was going to be a tough and I just couldn’t sustain quality.

“She’s very talented and she’s improved a lot since the last time I played her.

“I’m taking the positives from this week and the last few months.

“I beat the number 33 in the world, I qualified for the Australian Open, won my first match on clay in the French Open qualifiers and I’ve got my highest ranking.

“On paper maybe I should have won but no-one is easy to play at Wimbledon.

“But I’m moving on from this and looking forward. I’m just focused on getting better.”

Baltacha's defeat leaves Andy Murray as the sole remaining British player in the main singles draws at Wimbledon. 

The third seed takes on Latvia's Ernests Gulbis on centre court later today.

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