Tennis: Comeback queen

Jun 20 2007 By The Journal

Comeback queen Elena Baltacha will climb more than 130 places up the world rankings after continuing her adventure in the International Women's Open at Eastbourne with a dramatic win over domestic number one Anne Keothavong.

Baltacha (pictured below) edged home in a roller-coaster tie-break which typified this unpredictable battle of the Britons, which ended 6-2 2-6 7-6 after nearly two-and-a-half hours.

Although Kiev-born Scot Baltacha - who will face fifth-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova in the second round today - was triumphant a year after painful recovery from a major back operation, her London neighbour Keothavong, whose parents came to Britain from Laos, fought hard.

Baltacha, whose career has been interrupted by bouts of illness, including a liver complaint which still requires careful monitoring, arrived on Centre Court after a three-match qualifying programme, but still ranked just 412 behind Keothavong's 179.

Yet she could afford a huge second-set blip and a far from convincing tie-break performance to defy those figures and insisted afterwards: "I'm a better player now than when I was number one in Britain three years ago. I made it hard for myself in the end today but I'm very proud because this is only my eighth tournament back after the surgery."