Elena Baltacha fights back to win

ELENA Baltacha came from a set down to defeat Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the BNP Paribas Masters at Indian Wells

Baltacha, ranked 62 in the world, battled from a break down in the final set to secure her place in round two, where she will face 14th-seeded German Julia Goerges.

Baltacha was pleased with the way she fought back. She said: “It’s a really good win for me and I really needed that. I felt really good after the first set. She gave me an opportunity, I took it and after that I really felt like I was mixing everything up and I felt comfortable.

“In the third set I went 0-2 down but I still felt like I could win the match and I ended up winning the next five games.

“When my coach Nino [Severino] came onto the court he told me to fight, just fight and that’s what I always try to do.”