By Elena Baltacha World number 54 and British number one

Baltacha is playing in the main draw at Flushing Meadows for the first time

I'm through my first match at the US Open after beating Petra Martic 6-2 6-2 and I think the overwhelming emotion is probably relief, as well as pride in how I performed and just happiness at winning.

I've beaten higher-ranked players at Grand Slams in the past but this win was very, very special because of the history between us and the fact that I lost to her at Wimbledon.

It's one to cherish. I got some revenge but more importantly I also conquered some demons.

I really, really hate losing any match - it's a sickening feeling - and it doesn't get much worse than the way I felt after losing to Martic at Wimbledon.

I tried to learn from that and, as tough as it was, it was one of those moments that either makes you or breaks you. I was so determined not to let it break me that I ended up putting in a really, really good performance.

The only moment of doubt was at 4-2 in the second set, when I served a couple of double faults, but I just told myself to pull myself together and get on with it. The next serve was an ace and the moment passed. When you come through a match like that it gives you a huge amount of confidence.

Baltacha and fellow Brit Anne Keothavong make it big in New York

Everyone in the locker room has been talking about how hot it was today - they reckon around 95 degrees on court - but the funny thing is that I didn't really notice when I was out there.

Of course I was careful to drink a lot and keep myself hydrated, and I had to re-grip my racket a lot because it got so slippery, but I didn't ever feel that I was boiling hot. It's amazing how much you aren't aware of when you are really pumped up.

The pressure is off a little bit for my next match against Petra Kvitova because I've already picked up some ranking points and got a win under my belt.

Kvitova showed by reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon that she can play well but, that said, her form hasn't been amazing since then and if I play the way I did against Martic then I think I've got a good chance. It'll be less complicated mentally and I can just go out there and play my game and see where that takes me.

One Italian restaurant will benefit from a Baltacha winning run

It's nice to think that I can just relax for the rest of today, enjoy a good meal this evening and then spend tomorrow preparing for my next match. That's a lot better than ringing up the travel agent and booking my flight home.

I'm really enjoying New York on this trip. We're staying near Times Square and we've been eating out at a restaurant there called Tony di Napoli's, which is a favourite haunt because my coach, Nino Severino, is Italian and he loves their food.

Their portions are so big that one plate of meatballs feeds four people and they'd probably go further if they didn't taste so good! It'll be spaghetti and meatballs tonight for sure.

Elena Baltacha will be contributing regular columns to BBC Sport throughout the US Open

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