Baltacha blasts Brit critics after bowing out
BRITISH No2 Elena Baltacha hit back at critics who have lambasted the country’s dearth of achievement after her second-round defeat ended home interest in the Wimbledon women’s singles title.
Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe called for funding to be reassessed after all of Britain’s top players – Baltacha and men’s third seed Andy Murray aside – fell at the first hurdle at SW19. And after following them out of the tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat to Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, Baltacha defended her contemporaries, insisting they had done enough in recent months to deserve funding.
“If you look at how the girls have actually done through the year, I don’t think anyone’s budget should get cut for that,” said the 25-year-old.
“People think everything revolves around Wimbledon but it’s just one week of the year for us. All the girls’ rankings have gone up. It’s the most exciting it’s been for years.”
Elsewhere Venus Williams stayed on course for a third successive women’s title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko. Top seed Dinara Safina progressed by beating Rossana De Los Rios, while former world No1 Ana Ivanovic and sixth seed Jelena Jankovic also won.
ORDER OF PLAY DAY FIVE
CENTRE COURT (1PM START)
P Kohlschreiber v R Federer 2
V Azarenka v S Cirstea 28
M Fish v N Djokovic 4
COURT ONE (1PM START)
R Kulikova v E Dementieva 4
I Karlovic 22 v JW Tsonga 9
T Haas 24 v M Cilic 11