New Malden’s Mel South was one of three British women to crash out in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.

The 22-year-old went down 6-2 6-4 to France’s 16th seed Marion Bartoli on the opening day of the tournament to follow British number one Anna Keothavong and Katie O’Brien out of the exit door in Melbourne.

“What let me down throughout the whole match was that I got broken too many times,” said South.

“That 4-1 service game (in the second set) was pretty terrible. I’ve played her a couple of times before and I knew going out there that I could win the match today.

“I knew exactly how to play her I just didn’t pull it off today. I’m a little bit disappointed because I had lots of chances.”

Scotland’s Elena Baltacha ept the home flag flying thanks to a 6-1 6-4 win over Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld after four British female players reached a Grand Slam main draw outside of Wimbledon since the US Open in 1992.