She is now Great Britain No.1 woman tennis player...
Britain's number one woman Anne Keothavong joined compatriot Elena Baltacha in the second round after overcoming American Vania King in a match she worked hard to control.
The 24-year-old Londoner, ranked 92nd in the world, secured a high-profile second round match against defending champion Venus Williams as she won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and eight minutes on Court 2 - only her second victory in eight years at the Championships.
Keothavong went into the match ranked one spot higher than King - a rare example of a British woman going into a match at Wimbledon as the favourite.But from the start, she played in patches - at times showing her superiority driving accurate shots from the baseline but at others times misfiring badly.
She was the first to secure a break in the opening set as her shots began to find their range and she looked to be well in control. But then two consecutive netcords which dropped wide of the sideline saw her immediately concede the break and from then she seemed to lose her way for a while.
All of a sudden, those balls which were finding the right spot a few minutes earlier were dropping long and the unforced error count started to grow. King was making mistakes too but was given enough opportunities to close out the first set.
Something had to change. The British girl returned from an end-of-set toilet break and, looking determined to find her form once more, cruised through the second set 6-2.
The final set swung dramatically in favour of Keothavong after she had slumped to 2-0 behind. She kept up the pressure by testing King's serve in the next three games and finally broke through to lead 4-3.
Now Keothavong had to show her confidence by holding serve and she showed real resolution to do so, including serving the fastest delivery of this first round match at 114 mph.
When King missed a forehand on the next point Keothavong now had a marginal but critical lead.
King served to stay in the match. Five times, she had a point to win the game but each time Keothavong piled the pressure on with her fine baseline driving and high level of accuracy.
A double fault, the fourth she hit in the match, cost the American because Keothavong, with a forehand cross court winner, went to match point for the first time. King forced a forehand error from the British girl and that was one huge chance dismissed.
Next a backhand winner hit down the line gave Keothavong a second chance and this time King dumped a forehand in the net.
Keothavong had won only one match before at Wimbledon - in 2004 against Nicole Pratt of Australia and she went on to lose to Maria Sharapova, the eventual champion, in the next round.
But now she is four years older, more experienced and more confident of giving a big name a real test in front of a home crowd when she steps out against Venus Williams on Thursday.
I'm not scared says Hackney girl up against Venus...
The London tennis player who will meet four-time champion Venus Williams on Wimbledon's Centre Court said today the match holds no fear for her.
Anne Keothavong, who started playing in Hackney at the age of three, said it is the kind of challenge she has been working towards all her life.
The 24-year-old, whose parents fled Laos in the Seventies when the Vietnam war spilled into that country, said: "It's what you play tennis for, to play these big matches. I've got nothing to lose. I'm looking forward to it."
The British number one added: "There's not a lot of point in me going on the court if I didn't think I was going to win. You have to believe in something."
Speaking after after beating Vania juniors at 11. She and her sister were the only tennis players at Kingsland secondary school, but her talent saw her surpass more privileged rivals and progress to become British junior champion.
She is also academically gifted and a talented violinist.
Keothavong does not have the multimillion pound sponsor ship deals - relying on hand-outs from an online bingo website.
She said: "Those who are close to me, my family and close friends know exactly what I've been through to be where I'm at. I think they're very proud of me and I'm proud of myself."
Who can ever got to this far at Wimbledon is a very talent tennis player, I really admired their courage and determination. Good on you Anne, we all proud of you, we will be watching you on Thursday. As Lao people always say: Sok Dee Der...........!
well... she been #1 rank female tennis player for U.K. but... sad to see her loose to Venus... i'm sure both of her parents are proud of her.. win or loose, they both were there to see her fight and try to win against Venus..
Please root for her as she made it to the 3rd round at US Open...
From CHARLIE WYETT in New York
Published: Today
ANNE KEOTHAVONG will be dragged to a French restaurant tonight after serving up a big surprise in the US Open.
The British No 1 delivered the best win of her career yesterday by stunning Italian 25th seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round at Flushing Meadows.
She now plays Olympic champion and fifth seed Elena Dementieva tomorrow — the first time a Brit has made the third round of the women’s draw here since Jo Durie and Sara Gomer in 1991.
Keothavong, who showed real guts in a 6-2 3-6 6-4 win, revealed her superstitious coaches Nigel Sears and Claire Curran insist she continues dining at the same Manhattan eatery — as she had never previously won a Grand Slam match outside Wimbledon.
The world No 87, who trailed 4-2 in the final set before storming to victory, said: “I really believed I had a chance to win and I knew if I could hang in there and just get stuck in, I’d be in with a good shot. I came away with the win so I’m pretty pleased.
“Even though I lost my serve there and went 4-2 down, I never felt I’d lost the match.”
London-born Keothavong, 24, whose family comes from Laos, added: “The night before my first-round match we had to go to a French restaurant, and last night I had to go back there again.
“I’m sure we will do the same before my next match.
“I’m not usually superstitious but the coaches had to sit in the same place and had to order similar kind of things.
“I had to have the fish of the day and, while they can have what they want, we all have creme brulee for dessert.”
Keothavong knows her next opponent will be even tougher.
She added: “Not many people can say they have a gold medal. It will definitely be another tough match for me. But I’ve got nothing to lose. I feel confident, I feel fit so who knows?”
