ELENA Baltacha has failed in her bid to become the first British woman in almost 20 years to reach the third round of the French Open after losing to American Vania King.

The British number one won her first set 6-4 before losing nine of the subsequent 11 games.

King eventually won the final two sets 6-1, 6-4, leaving Ipswich-based Baltacha to reflect on her best ever clay-court season which culminated in reaching the second round at Roland Garros for the first time in her career.

She said: “I knew going into the match that it was going to be very difficult. She’s got a good game on clay and she’s playing very well.

“I was able to dominate in the first set, then maybe went a bit flat in the second and in the third, even though I was more aggressive, she was just absorbing my pace and I wasn’t really able to get her out of court. That’s really the big reason why I lost the match today.”

Baltacha will now begin her grass-court preparation and, from next week, is scheduled to play the AEGON Trophy and the AEGON Challenge ITF events, both in Nottingham, followed by the AEGON International in Eastbourne before Wimbledon begins next month.

She added: “It’s unbelievable when you’ve had a really good clay season because you’ve played so many matches that once you get into the grass you’re really physically prepped and ready to go.

“I think I’ve learned so much about my game, how much I’ve developed and I’ve used tactics and things that I’ve never really kind of had the confidence to experiment with before in matches. I have done that on the clay and I think my game has really improved in this area.

“I’m not beating myself up. There are a lot of positives and I can go away from here proud of what I’ve done. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve picked up a lot of points and I’m going into the grass ready to really enjoy it and try and make the most of it.”