Baltacha knocks out top seed
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Elena Baltacha caused an upset in the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Thursday, when she defeated top seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Baltacha, who is ranked 51 places below the world number eight, took the victory in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Schiavone, 30, won the first grand slam title of her career in June, when she triumphed at the French Open.
Baltcha broke into the top one hundred last September, after winning the ITF title in Shrewsbury, and has continued to climb steadily up the WTA rankings.
The British number one will now play sixth seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the quarter-finals. Petkovic booked her place in the next round with a win over qualifier Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3.