Anne Keothavong and Mel South recorded an excellent first round victory in the Ladies’ Doubles on Wednesday. Scheduled to be first match on Court 4, the two Brits looked in good form as they defeated the Chinese pairing of Chunmei Ji and Shengnan Sun 7-6(5) 6-4.
In the next round, Keothavong and South will meet either Akgul Amanmuradova and Darya Kustova or Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang. In the mean time, Keothavong will face the reigning champion, American Venus Williams, in the Ladies’ Singles second round.
Playing in front of a supportive Court 2 crowd, Elena Baltacha lost against Jie Zheng in the Ladies’ Singles second round. The feisty Brit, who defeated German Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 7-5 in her opening match, was defeated 2-6 5-7 against a Chinese opponent ranked 25 places higher on the world ladder.
Baltacha made a nervous start to the match and lost the first set in just 27 minutes. However, the British No 4 began to find some form and led 5-4 30-0 in the second set before Zheng fought back to snatch the set and match.
Baltacha will now turn her attention to the Ladies’ Doubles in which she is teaming up with Naomi Cavaday. The British pair will face the No 13 seeds, American Bethanie Mattek and Indian Sania Mirza, in the first round.
Also on court today, Katie O'Brien and Amanda Elliott lost in a closely fought two set match in the Ladies' Doubles. The British duo fell against Japanese Aiko Nakamura and Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 5-7 4-6.
In the Gentlemen's doubles, Chris Eaton and Alex Slabinsky lost against the No 1 seeds, American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, 5-7 1-6 4-6 on Court 19. Meanwhile, Richard Bloomfield and Ken Skupski resumed their match from Tuesday evening against Czech Frantisek Cermak and Aussie Jordan Keer but eventually bowed out 4-6 7-5 4-6 4-6.