Baltacha enjoys British battle

Elena Baltacha is delighted to see competition improving in British women's tennis ahead of this year's Wimbledon.

Elena Baltacha is delighted to see competition improving in British women's tennis ahead of this year's Wimbledon. The 27-year-old is the British number one but she is now fighting off competition from Heather Watson, who broke into the top 100 for the first time after qualifying and then winning a round in the main draw at the French Open. Baltacha and Anne Keothavong have been leading the way for Britain's women for a number of years but now they face a new challenge. "You look at other nations and they've got 10 or 20 really fighting to be number one. But it's all getting better," said Baltacha. "Me and Heather reached the second round at the French, that hasn't been achieved in many years, and hopefully that will really inspire the juniors, get them to think, 'One day that can be me', and hopefully we'll get more players battling for that." Baltacha has impressed during the clay-court season - reaching a semi-final in Nice as well as beating American Sloane Stephens at the French Open - and she is pleased to be on the right track. "It's huge for me," she said. "When you look at the players like (2010 French Open champion Francesca) Schiavone and a lot of the older players, they've peaked in their late 20s and early 30s and I think I'm one of those, which is fine. And I appreciate it now at this age more than I would have done at 18."