Anne Keothavong admitted nerves got the better of her after she narrowly missed out on her first WTA final today.

The British No1 fought hard against Elena Vesina but lost 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

Keothavong, who will make her debut in the main draw of the Australian Open this month, said: "I'm obviously really disappointed about the result but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. It was a big match for both of us for a place in the final and I guess there were a lot of nerves out there and I got quite emotional because I wanted it badly.

"There are lots of things I could've done better but what's done is done now and I need to regroup and get ready for my next tournament in Hobart which starts on Sunday."

The 25-year-old from Hackney fought back from 5-3 down to take the first set of the semi-final on a tiebreak after a scorching backhand that proved too good for Vesina. The Russian, ranked 16 places below Keothavong at No76, hit back in style by cruising through the next set in 39 minutes.

The third went with serve until the seventh game when Keothavong was broken after losing a controversial line call, despite arguing her case with the umpire.

Vesina still had plenty of work to do and only clinched victory on her fifth match point.