Elena Baltacha one match away from qualifying for BNP Paribas Open

The British No1 Elena Baltacha fought back from a set down to record a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the American Julia Boserup in the first qualifying round for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Baltacha, the world No64 and top seed for the qualifying tournament, now plays the Russian world No109, Ekaterina Bychkova for a place in the main draw. The fourth seed, Sandra Zahlavova, was the highest-profile casualty of the first qualifying round. The Czech was beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Romania's Edina Gallovits after making a string of unforced errors. Also making an early exit was the seventh seed and fellow Czech Klara Zakopalova, who went down 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal, who earned notoriety during last year's Wimbledon because of the volume of her grunting. The second seed, Tamarine Tanasugarn, breezed past Romania's Monica Niculescu 6-0, 6-1, but the third seed, Petra Martic, had to work harder for a 6-4, 4-6 6-4 victory over Anastasia Pivovarova.