Baltacha was beaten by a higher-ranked opponent

British number one Elena Baltacha has been beaten in straight sets by Roberta Vinci in her rain-affected second-round match at the Hobart International.

The Scot trailed her Italian opponent 6-3 when play was suspended on Tuesday and the pair did not get on court as Wednesday's play was washed out.

Baltacha, ranked 55 in the world, lost the second set 6-4 as Vinci, the world number 39, completed a comfortable win.

"She just played better and you have to say well done," conceded Baltacha.

"It's been a bit of a strange week. I don't think I've been at a tournament with so much rain, certainly not in Australia.

"To be honest, though, seeing the images of what's happening in Queensland puts everything in perspective. It's really not that bad, at the end of the day we're only playing a tennis match.

"Considering how ill I was at Christmas and that I had to miss Auckland, I'm very positive about what's happened this week.

"I think I had a good week. I had a good win over Tammie [Tanasugarn], she is a tricky player but I played well.

"And then though I lost [to Vinci] I thought I played some good stuff, the second set was much better than the first and I was much more aggressive and really started to open up."

Baltacha now heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open which starts on Monday.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version