Britain’s women crash out on day one of Wimbledon

Britain's Wimbledon campaign did not get off to the greatest of starts yesterday when all four British women competing crashed out on the tournament's opening day. The British No 1 Elena Baltacha (above) - who last year was the only UK woman to win a round – was sent out after losing to the Croatian teenager Petra Martic.

Cheered on by the home crowd, Baltacha, the world No 52, had looked to be on course for a comfortable victory as she easily won the opening set. However Martic, seeded at 76, clawed her way back into the contest by grabbing a 2-6 7-5 6-3 victory.
 
Meanwhile 16-year-old Laura Robson also suffered a first-round defeat when she faced the fourth seed Jelena Jankovic on Centre Court. Robson, the 2008 junior Wimbledon champion, took the Serbian to a tie-break in the second set but she eventually lost in straight sets.
 
Robson was philosophical about her defeat and said playing on Centre Court had not been as bad as she was expecting. "I think I did pretty well - I was pretty comfortable out there. It's not as intimidating as it seems."
 
Britain's two remaining female hopes - Melanie South and Katie O'Brien, both 24 - also lost their matches.
 
All hopes are now pinned on Andy Murray who takes on the 26-year-old Czech player Jan Hajek on Court No 1 today. Although the 23-year-old Scot's form has been patchy this season he was expected to breeze through this afternoon's game against Hajek, the world No 80. ·