Tennis: Baltacha bows out but top 50 place may be consolation

Elena Baltacha faces an anxious wait to discover if she has broken into the world's top 50 after bowing out of the US Open with a defeat to Wimbledon semi-finalist Petra Kvitova.

Baltacha lost a tight second-round contest 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 on Court Six at Flushing Meadows, but the points gained from her opening victory over Croatia's Petra Martic might be enough to move from 57th into the top 50 when the rankings are calculated after the year's final Grand Slam.

"It really will be very special," the 27-year-old Scot said. "Obviously, it would have been really nice to win and get into the top 50 that way. But I know it depends on the girls around me, whether they defend their points here. We'll have to see after the tournament.

There was certainly little to separate Baltacha and Kvitova in New York, with Baltacha doing well to save two break points in the 11th game of the first set before her Czech opponent edged the tie-break. A single break of serve was enough for Kvitova to win the second set and Baltacha admitted: "She had more firepower and really started firing, especially in the second set. Then my first-serve percentage got worse. I think that was really the difference."