By David Gold

Elena Baltacha_playing_forehandJanuary 4 - Britain's number one women's tennis player Elena Baltacha (pictured) does not believe that the quality of the tennis tournament at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be compromised by the close proximity of the event to Wimbledon, the highlight of the sport's calendar.


Wimbledon runs from June 25 to July 8 next year, whilst the tennis at the Olympics gets underway on July 28 at the same venue.

Wimbledon itself comes shortly after the French Open, and the punishing schedule of the tennis calendar is already a matter of much contention.

Some of the world's top players on the ATP tour, including Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, complained of fatigue this year, with 20 weeks a year of playing time, plus the constant travel, threatening a strike.

Baltacha though, believes that the gap between Wimbledon and London 2012 will suffice.

"You get a two week gap," she told insidethegames.

"All the players are so looking forward to playing it will be such a strong line up and the top players are preparing for it now.

"Two weeks for them will be long enough to recover."

Baltacha enjoyed the best year of her career in 2011, reaching the second round of each Grand sSlam tournament and finishing the year in the top 50, the first time a British women has done that two years in a row since the 1980s.

She spoke to insidethegames about her career and remaining goals, and whilst she says that any tennis player dreams of picking up a grand slam, the 28-year-old knows she will probably never reach such heights.

"To pick up a Grand Slam any tennis player would say that's what they dream of," she said.

"Realistically my chances are probably not but you never know.

"I do believe I can make the second week of a slam.

"I've not reached my peak; my tennis is getting better and there are things for me to do.

"I still think that I have not peaked fully yet."

Laura Robson_03-01-12
One British female star she thinks could go all the way to the top is 17-year-old starlet Laura Robson (pictured).

Baltacha said that Robson has a "long way to go" to make it in the game, but believes she has the talent to go to the very top.

Robson surged to the attention of the British public in 2008 when she claimed the Wimbledon Junior Girls' title at the age of just 14.

In doing so she became the first Briton to lift a junior title in 24 years, and the youngest to lift the girl's trophy since Martina Hingis in 1994, and having risen to 131 in the WTA rankings, there are hopes she will go on to become a serious grand slam contender in years come.

"Laura is a very talented girl," Baltacha said.

"Even though she is very talented there are still quite a few stages for Laura to go through.

"She's got the game so it will all depend on what kind of people she has around her in a few years' time, and what she will work on."

"She's just come out of the juniors so it all depends on what kind of people come into her camp what kind of work she does if the people are positive influences."

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