Elena Baltacha continues to blaze a trail

By The Newsroom
Published 16th Feb 2010, 23:38 BST
Updated 17th Feb 2010, 00:16 BST
ELENA Baltacha continued her superb run of form with a straight-sets victory over Renata Voracova in the first round of the Cellular South Cup in Memphis.

The 26-year-old British No1 has already had a profitable few days – she rose to a career-high ranking of 70th on Monday after winning the $100,000 ITF Dow Corning Classic at the weekend.

After travelling from Michigan to Memphis, Baltacha showed no signs of fatigue from her heavy schedule as she swept past her Czech rival 7-5, 6-1 yesterday.

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In a tight first set, eighth seed Baltacha was pegged back after a couple of early breaks but a break in the 11th game proved decisive. And she rattled off six games in a row in the second set against the world No115 to seal her progress in style.

Baltacha faces Canadian qualifier Valerie Tetreault in the second round of the WTA Tour event, with the incentive of a likely meeting with top seed Maria Sharapova for the winner.

Anne Keothavong, the British No3, also advanced to the second round in Memphis with a straight-sets victory over sixth seed Kristina Barrois. The 26-year-old Londoner, in her second tournament back after a six-month lay-off with a knee injury, overcame her German opponent 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito.

At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, defending champion Venus Williams eased through to the third round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki also won in straight sets, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) against Dominika Cibulkova. But world No7 Elena Dementieva was a casualty, the fifth seed being forced to withdraw against Daniela Hantuchova who was leading 6-4, 1-1.