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French Open: Britain's Elena Baltacha is happy to be back playing


  • Elena Baltacha: Relishing her opening round clash
  • Heather Watson: Takes on Stefanie Voegele from Switzerland
Heather Watson: Takes on Stefanie Voegele from Switzerland
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The former British No 1 returns to action ten months after she thought she had played her final match.Elena Baltacha is delighted to be back in grand slam action and is relishing her opening round encounter against New Zealand's Marina Erakovic at the French Open.
Baltacha, who has been through more than her fair share of injury and illness troubles, had contemplated retirement after the Olympics.
But the 29-year-old, who is currently ranked 200th, decided that she missed the tennis lifestyle too much.
She made her competitive return at an ITF event in Alabama before turning out for Great Britain in their Fed Cup defeat to Argentina in April.

Out of love

Baltacha said: "I actually retired after the Olympics. I kind of kept it to myself but I knew I'd had enough. I was going through the motions.
"If you're not careful you find yourself getting into a grind and I just fell out of love with tennis, to be honest.
"But the things I really hated about it are the things I really missed. Packing the suitcase, going from week to week in different hotels, getting on another flight. It was really bizarre. I realised how much I love tennis.
"The biggest thing I missed was the one-on-one competition. That challenge, the 'come ons', that feeling when you win a match and the umpire says, 'Game, set, match, Miss Baltacha'. You can replace that but only if you're ready to move on."
Watson back
Meanwhile, Heather Watson also makes a return to action after recovering from glandular fever.
The last time the 21-year-old was at a tennis tournament was in Miami in March.
She begins her Roland Garros campaign against Swiss Stefanie Voegele, who she beat in the final round of qualifying here in 2011 and is excited by the challenge.
Watson said: "I'm happy to be back. When I was packing my stuff and getting ready to live out of a suitcase again, it was kind of a nice feeling. I put my tennis bag on my back and had a smile to myself. I'm excited definitely."

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