Baltacha vows to move forward after Wimbledon exit

Elena Baltacha said she was determined to take the positives from what has been dubbed a disastrous Wimbledon, insisting there is a bright future for British tennis.

A straight-sets defeat by Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, ranked 40 places below the Brit, ended home interest in the women's singles and denied Baltacha the chance to join compatriot Anne Keothavong in the world's top 100.

Baltacha, who had been favourite to complete a hat-trick of wins over the 23-year-old former Wimbledon junior champion, faded badly after a promising start to go down 7-5 6-1 but bowed out on a defiant note.

"Whatever had happened this week, I know that I am going to progress and move forwards," she said.

"It's like two steps forward, one step back, but that's the way it is in tennis.

"It was a great opportunity for me. If you look at all the second-round draws, this was the best one. It's just a shame that I couldn't deliver."

The Kiev-born Baltacha was on course to deliver big things for British tennis ever since reaching the third round of Wimbledon in 2002 but was derailed by a series of illness and injury blows.

However, after qualifying for the Australian Open for a second time in January, she surged to a career-best 105 in the world and is determined to keep climbing.

"I will take the positives from this week," she added. "I beat someone who is 33 in the world and I've performed consistently through the year.

"I qualified in Australia and won a match in Paris for the first time so I'm not worried.

"As long as I keep my body healthy, then I really believe I'm going to move forwards."

Baltacha is also convinced British women's tennis is moving forward and dismissed criticism by sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, who called for funding cuts, as "harsh".

"If you look at the bigger picture and look at how the girls have actually done through the year, I don't think that anyone's budget should get cut for that," she said.

"A lot of people think that everything revolves around Wimbledon but it is just one week of the year for us. If nothing happens at Wimbledon, it's not the end of the world.

"We play 30 to 35 other tournaments and all the girls' rankings have gone up. It's the most exciting it's been for years."