Baltacha battles to victory

Elena Baltacha showed great tenacity to edge into the second round of Wimbledon with a 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory over Angelique Kerber.

Baltacha's composure frequently deserted her at key moments but she was able to take advantage as her bad-tempered opponent from Germany faded late in the third set.

The British number four from Enfield overcame a nervous start on Court 11 when poor accuracy saw her broken in only the second game.

But she responded magnificently, forcing Kerber - who stands 27 places higher in the world rankings at 131 - to concede service immediately with a powerful forehand doing the damage.

An unstoppable shot that hugged the line saw Kerber broken again in seventh and with confidence draining from the German, Baltacha closed out the set.

Kerber threw down her racket in frustration - the first of several petulant outbursts - in the opening game of the second and Baltacha further enraged her opponent by firing a bullet ace to ease 1-0 ahead.

But then it was the 24-year-old's turn to crumble as she was broken in the third and then saw her service fall apart in the seventh, eventually conceding the set.

She came out firing for the deciding set, however, blasting Kerber into submission in the first game only to squander three break points.

With her shots alternating from the sublime to the ridiculous, Baltacha could build no momentum and was broken again in the fifth.

Determination alone allowed her to seize Kerber's serve in the eighth and she repeated her heroics in the 10th before securing a match point two games later. She wasted the chance but, thanks to some dubious line-calls, she claimed a second which was won via a kind bounce off the net.