Baltacha seals Indian Wells spot

by Admin , 10 March 2010

British number one Elena Baltacha qualified for the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after beating Ekaterina Bychkova.


The 26-year-old Scot, who survived a slight scare against Julia Boserup in the first qualifying round, enjoyed a more comfortable game against her Russian opponent with a 6-3 6-4 success.

Baltacha will now go head-to-head with American wildcard Alexa Glatch, who is ranked almost 100 places beneath her, later on Wednesday.

A tougher encounter against seventh seed Li Na awaits Baltacha if she overcomes Glatch and the world number 65 said: "This year already it's the third WTA event that I've qualified for so I'm really pleased.

"I've never played Glatch before but I've had two matches already on these courts and I'm ready to get another win."

Meanwhile, 26-year-old British number three seed Anne Keothavong will face Russia's Anna Chakvetadze in round one at Indian Wells as she aims to build on her semi-final appearance in Memphis in February.

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