Baltacha blows it

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The British number four, who sits 25 places below her opponent at 158 in the world rankings, paid the price for a frustrating display full of errors.

At the business end of the second set, she looked in control as she served to take the match into a decider, but she lost her composure when the pressure was on.

Baltacha made a typically slow start as she struggled to combat Zheng's accuracy and speed around the court. She conceded break point in the second game and Zheng pounced with a crosscourt backhand that looked suspiciously wide.

A flurry of unforced errors was handing Zheng points on a plate and when Baltacha found the net in the fourth, the 24-year-old from China had raced 4-0 up.

She broke back immediately, punishing Zheng's feeble second serve, and overpowered her opponent in game six. But a sublime crosscourt forehand allowed Zheng to reclaim the initiative and she went on to take the set when Baltacha once again struck the net.

The nimble Zheng was continuing to mix her play up nicely in the second set and troubled Baltacha by manoeuvring her around the court. But the Briton was showing greater resilience on her own serve and, although basic mistakes were still hampering her game, she was beginning to take control.

Two break points arrived in game five but she only needed one as she blasted Zheng into submission. Inconsistency prevented her from building any momentum, however, and she was broken back immediately with Zheng in control at the baseline.

A beautifully-executed two-handed backhand secured two break points in the ninth, the second of which Zheng fired into the net to leave Baltacha on the brink of levelling.

Serving to take the match into a deciding set, she outfoxed her Chinese opponent with a crafty forehand but then endured yet another wobble. Zheng blew a first break point but did not waste a second as Baltacha fell apart on her own service. Serving to stay in the tournament, she mishit one shot to give Zheng match point and then fired wide to bring down the curtain on her Wimbledon for another year.