2005 Jan 19 - Baltacha into third round

Elena Baltacha defeated Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France (2-6 6-3 6-1) to book her place in the third round of the Australian Open despite dropping the first set.

Taking into account the uphill struggle the British star has faced over the past couple of years it is an even greater achievement that she has now become the first British player since Clare Wood (1991) to reach the third round of the Australian Open.

In the next round Elena will need to play her best tennis if she is to defeat the 15th seed Silvia Farina Elia of Italy.

Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Elena said:

"Farina Elia is seeded and she's a good player.

"I'm just really delighted with the way I've played this week, picking up a lot of ranking points. I've got nothing to lose so we'll see what happens."