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It was a mixed day for British women on Day 3 at Australian Open 2010, with Elena Baltacha progressing to the third round while Katie O’Brien fell in straight sets.

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Not since 1992 had two British women reached the second round of a major outside of Wimbledon. Although British No. 2 O’Brien fell 6-2 6-2 to No. 8 seed Jelena Jankovic on Show Court 2, Baltacha ensured the Union Jack would fly for at least another two days at Melbourne Park.

Baltacha, the top-ranked Brit, upset Ukrainian No. 30 seed Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2 7-5 to set up a meeting with world No. 2 Dinara Safina, who won her second-round match in straight sets against Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Baltacha, ranked 51 places below Bondarenko at No. 83, smashed 35 winners on her way to equalling her best-ever performance at Melbourne Park, which came when she made the third round in 2005.

The 26-year-old Scot was the aggressor in the opening set, breaking Bondarenko to love and racing to a 2-0 lead. Bondarenko broke back immediately but continued to struggle on serve, only winning 50 per cent of her first-serve points.
 
Baltacha was wasteful with her break point opportunities – converting just three of seven chances during the set – but what she did was enough to win it 6-2.

The second set was a tussle that featured seven breaks of serve. This time it was the 2008 Australian Open doubles winner, Bondarenko, who failed to take her chances.

The Ukrainian blew a 3-1 lead as Baltacha clawed her way back with powerful groundstrokes to gain a pivotal break and lead 6-5. Sensing the finish line, Baltacha sent down two aces to set up three match points, and converted on her second attempt.

She celebrated with a pump of her fist, she ran to thank the vocal British contingent supporting her on Court 6. “I really did believe I could beat her (Bondarenko), so I am just delighted,” Baltacha said.

Unsure of her next opponent immediately after winning her match, Baltacha said it would be a fantastic opportunity to test herself against a player such as Safina.

“She has had her blips (recently),” Baltacha said. “I am just going to go for it. I have nothing to lose and I am very excited about that.”

It was not such a good day for O’Brien, who was completely outclassed by a fit and firing Jankovic. O’Brien rued that fact that she didn’t extend the rallies longer and use more variation in her game plan.

“I was trying to go for a little bit too much, I think I expected her to put me under more pressure, and to be honest, she didn’t. She just played solid but she didn’t do anything outstanding,” she said.

The Serbian, a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2008 and a former world No. 1, dominated from the outset to quickly move ahead 3-0. Although O’Brien got on the board in the fourth game with a service hold, she was soon down 5-1 as Jankovic scored another break in the sixth game.

O’Brien found her range in the next game, smacking three cold winners from the baseline on her way to breaking serve for the first time. However, in an epic game that featured seven deuces, O’Brien blew five game points – many with unforced errors – to hand Jankovic her third break and the set in 38 minutes.

Games went on serve early in the second set until the world No. 8 scored a break in the fourth game to lead 3-1. It proved decisive; Jankovic maintained her buffer and eventually broke again in the eighth game to complete the 74-minute rout.

Unforced errors really hurt the Brit – O’Brien finished the match with 42 errors (26 more than Jankovic) and just 12 winners. O’Brien also committed eight costly double faults.

Rather than dwell on the statistics and her missed opportunities, O’Brien chose to focus on the positives and what she could improve upon. “I still have to work really hard on my speed and my movement, because I definitely felt like Jelena was superior to me in that department today, it was incredible some of the balls she got back,” she said.

“It was encouraging (to reach the second round) and it’s definitely a sign that I can compete with these players in future. I was delighted to have won a round – it’s the first time I’ve done that outside of Wimbledon – and I was delighted with the way I played yesterday (in her first round match).
“I can use that positive experience to see me through the rest of the year.”