Brit Elena shows teary Keothavong how to do it
BRITISH women’s No2 Elena Baltacha provided the silver lining after seeing all her compatriots, including No1 Anne Keothavong, dumped out in the first round.
Baltacha, who reached the third round in 2002, sprung a major upset by beating world No33 Alona Bondarenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Scot, ranked No106, punished an error-ridden performance from her Ukrainian opponent to set up a second-round clash with Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens.
Tearful Keothavong had earlier walked out of her post-match press conference after losing in straight sets to Austrian Patricia May – one of three defeats for British women on a miserable second day.
Better had been expected of the 25-year-old world No51. And after losing to a player ranked 29 places below her, she broke down when asked if she had let people down.
“I’ve let myself down more than anything,” said Keothavong. “Wimbledon is such a special tournament to me. And this year I felt I had overcome so much to get where I am.”
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, defending champion Venus Williams eased past Stefanie Voegele, while world No1 Dinara Safina and sixth seed Jelena Jankovic had trickier wins.
ORDER OF PLAY DAY THREE
CENTRE COURT (1PM START)
M Sharapova (RUS)24 v G Dulko (ARG)
G Garcia-Lopez (SPA) v R Federer (SWI) 1
S Querrey (USA) v M Cilic (CRO) 11
COURT ONE (1PM START)
S Greul (GER) v N Djokovic (SER) 4
J Groth (AUS) v S Williams (USA) 2
T Haas (GER) 24 v M Llodra (FRA)