Baltacha reaches Poitiers final

Elena Baltacha secured her place in the final of the ITF event in Poitiers with a straight-sets win over Irena Pavlovic.

British No.1 books final with Date-Krumm

Elena Baltacha secured her place in the final of the ITF US dollars 100,000 event in Poitiers with a straight-sets win over Irena Pavlovic. The British number one came through a tough first-set tie-break in the semi-final, but then breezed through the second set to beat the Frenchwoman 7-6 (10/8) 6-1. Baltacha, ranked 58 in the world, will take on Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the final in France. Victory over Date-Krumm would move Baltacha into the top 50, and the Scot is relishing the challenge. "Date-Krumm will try and make life uncomfortable for me and she's certainly a much better player than her ranking," said Baltacha. "I'm very pumped for this match though. It's my last match of the season and I just want to go out and give it absolutely everything I have."