Baltacha vows to move forward after Wimbledon exit

Elena Baltacha said she was determined to take the positives from what has been dubbed a disastrous Wimbledon, insisting there is a bright future for British tennis.

A straight-sets defeat by Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, ranked 40 places below the Brit, ended home interest in the women's singles and denied Baltacha the chance to join compatriot Anne Keothavong in the world's top 100.

Baltacha, who had been favourite to complete a hat-trick of wins over the 23-year-old former Wimbledon junior champion, faded badly after a promising start to go down 7-5 6-1 but bowed out on a defiant note.

"Whatever had happened this week, I know that I am going to progress and move forwards," she said.

"It's like two steps forward, one step back, but that's the way it is in tennis.

"It was a great opportunity for me. If you look at all the second-round draws, this was the best one. It's just a shame that I couldn't deliver."

The Kiev-born Baltacha was on course to deliver big things for British tennis ever since reaching the third round of Wimbledon in 2002 but was derailed by a series of illness and injury blows.

However, after qualifying for the Australian Open for a second time in January, she surged to a career-best 105 in the world and is determined to keep climbing.