Wimbledon Juniors 2008.

Smidster · Challenger level

RE: Wimbledon Juniors 2008.

The Hoose · Satellite level

Laura won 6-3 3-6 6-1. Not bad.

DavidC · Tennis legend

Bravo Laura - coped well with the enormous pressure and frenzied atmosphere.

thegingerlightbulb · Intermediate Club Player

Well she is obviously the real deal. I think she will go on and become a top 10 player!
I could be wrong of course but all the signs are good, and yes there is a lot of difference between the junior and the senior game, but to win at 14 against mostly 16 and 17 year olds is fantastic.
This is what really makes her stand out from other promising Brits that we have had, i.e. Delgardo, Curtis etc. She did not win this at 18 when most contempories are already in the senior game but at a younger age than all her opponents.
Brilliant stuff!!!

steven · Tennis legend

What a great match that was to watch - I thought she was going to self-destruct midway through the 2nd set but she really got it back together and played some brilliant shots. Of course, she could just have been trying to rouse the crowd a bit by not making it look too easy wink

- if she was, it certainly worked! I thought both Laura and the Thai girl coped very well with a full Court 1 as well. smile

So nice to see that she's grounded enough to have such a sense of fun too. I'll enjoy watching her 'take Venus down' next year too. wink

I bet there was a PS on the note from Marat saying "Radek says he's free though". ashamed

Sam Smith; we'd better be crafeul not to hype her up too much.
<minutes later>
Sam Smith: maybe they'll be calling it Robson Ridge in a few years' time. biggrin

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Laura Robson won the Girls singles title at Wimbledon, surging away from her opponent Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand in the final set for a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory to become the first british winner of the trophy since Annabel Croft in 1984. 14 year old Robson started impressively, plenty of pace and penetration on her first serve as she held in the opening game then returned aggressively against Lertcheewakarn's somewhat unorthodox service, to establish an early lead.

Having saved a couple of break points, Robson held for 3-0 but Lertcheewakarn came back into the match with some fine double-handed groundstrokes, struck flat into the corners, as she held to love then took advantage of a poor spell from Laura to break back and then level at 3-3. A couple of unreturned serves allowed Robson to hold and she was soon a break ahead once again, this time an aggressive return doing the damage. She finished the set with a fine hold, two forehand winners and an unreturned serve to take it 6-3.

Into the second set Laura started strongly, creating two break points with a fine backhand return winner and a forehand winner but Noppawan saved both, only to double fault then fire a backhand wide for the opening break of serve. Robson followed a double fault with an ace but a forehand error into the net allowed Lertcheewakarn to level the score at 1-1. Laura looked in excellent shape as she broke for a 3-2 lead as Lertcheewakarn's level dropped but a double fault ended a long game featuring two saved break points and two missed game points. In her own words Laura "went a bit mad" for the next few minutes and Noppawan was soon serving for the set, which she took on her second set point.

The final set was all Robson. She held thanks to some deep groundstrokes, then immediately went 0-40 up and took her third break point, only to double fault again to concede her own serve. Yet another break thanks to a couple of fine forehands from Laura. Lertcheewakarn was unable to fight back this time, too many wild groundstrokes as Robson rushed towards the finishing line. A double fault on her first match point but an unreturned first serve got her home for a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory.

Though perhaps not at her very best, there was a lot to admire from Laura Robson, her serve has real potential, just four aces this time as her accuracy wasn't quite there today but it will win her a lot of cheap points in the future. Her return of serve is aggressive, some flew long but she troubled her Thai opponent with the depth and pace of her return; three superb backhand return winners the highlight. And she possesses a high quality left-handed forehand that at times looked effortless as she fired yet another crisp winner into the space. One amazing shot struck from yards outside the tramlines, around the net, landing just inside the court for an incredible winner, brought the crowd to its feet.

She'll need to work on her movement and learn how to play at the net but she is the real deal and will be surging towards the top of the women's game within the next few years.

Sadly for Laura, Marat Safin turned her down for the Champions' Ball. Hopefully she'll be able to cope with the rejection. Speaking afterwards, a smiling Laura said "he is a bit old for me anyway".

-- Edited by kundalini at 18:41, 2008-07-05

DUSTY DICK · Club Coach

What a fantastic result for British tennis and Laura Robson. Really enjoyed watching her match. The way she handled the whole occasion on such a big show court. There are many in the senior game who get panicky on the big courts. To be honest when Laura lost the second set i thought the third would probably race away 6-1 but she stayed so focused and got stuck in there. Noticeable that people who are big in tennis are tipping her for a big future and at the moment you would have to say that her focus and desire on court are equally as good as our top ladies. The hype around her now is gonna be huge but i guess we have to stay calm and let her get on with developing at her pace. Be great if she gets a wild card into the main draw next year and starts playing 10k's as well but i do hope she is not rushed too quickly into senior tennis as we want her to have a long career like Henman and Rusedski and not to be burnt out at say 21.

I hope if possible that she gets a couple of weeks now to just be a 14 year old and do the normal teenage things before it's back to business just to keep a nice balance but somehow expect she will be in demand on the TV and other things.

Massive prospect for us but pray the histeria is kept at a reasonable level for Laura's sake.

Well done Laura. Have a great time at the ball. You deserve it.

Smidster · Challenger level

Congratulations Laura!!!

Also loved the fact she seemed to be really enjoying playing and was brilliant in the interviews.

indiana · Tennis legend

I was very impressed with Laura. She does as was said appear the "real deal".

The great thing is producing that at 14. Yes, there are no doubt players that have won that early and not followed through. But the point is IF she is going right to the top then she does need to be making this sort of mark at 14 / 15 and she is.

As was said in commentary also, the other great thing is, she already has the basic game so much in place.

There are clearly thing that need still to be worked on eg. her service, mainly control ( looks like more spin needed ) on the second service, because the basic service is already quite good and powerful, and her movement from side to side, which will come with more legwork and increased athleticism, and probably in time work on her being more comfortable at and near the net.

Those things can be worked on and improved. The talent to simply be an extremely good and consistent hitter of tennis balls, is at the stage that anyone would hope for, and signs of both composure when it mattered and a little fire.

I was also very impressed with her interview. It was nice that when asked about her nerves playing on Court 1, she admitted that she had felt like nearly being sick, and a nice little exchange about her invite to Safin. The final response to the question about how she'd feel about if she got a maindraw wildcard and met Venus Williams was both unexpected and classic : "I'd take her down !" I feel there that yes she was saying it a bit jokingly and tongue in cheek, but somehow I saw something within her that said well, maybe not next year or the year after, but in years to come, I'm going to make it.

She apparently, from what was said does, currently has a great work ethic and desire to improve, and already building a team, nutritionist etc. So much can happen over the next few years, there can be so many distractions, so who really knows how she will mature and how good she will be, but the basis is so there l

madfan · Social player

Agree that huge congratulations are in order for an amazing performance. Laura has given up a lot to get this far - from what we have heard she has had to already give up a lot to get to this level and this should not be underestimated. I am sure her parents will ensure she is well-protected from the Media - let's hope so - as she really does look to have a great future ahead of her

steven · Tennis legend

One of the most impressive things about Laura on court is how cleanly she hits the ball. It's as if her body mechanics are so good that her shots appear really natural without much effort - the same thing (but to a lesser extent, obviously!) that marks Federer out from the crowd. I think that's how he has managed to avoid getting injured too much, so for Laura's sake, hopefully the same will apply to her.

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

A massive well done to Laura. She has brought a smile to my face this week, and i felt slightly teary eyed when she lifted the trophy.

I hope she isn't rushed too quickly into seniors either. Take it step by step. I'm sure she will get lots of attention now and she'll prob get WC's all over the world.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Oh my. I didn't have time to post earlier, I had to go out just as Laura won (I was standing with my coat on and the door half open willing her to make it before I had to go!) Now everything has been said.

It will be a terrible come-down getting back to ordinary junior matches but I hope she will buckle down and go on to great things. She does seem remarkably mature for her age so there is every hope.

wolf · Tennis legend

Simply incredible. But expected since she beat Oudin.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Great win from Laura, and she really managed to turn it around after losing the second set and losing the early break in the 3rd.

Hope she can kick on from this and keeps winning matches at the bigger events, and then when she starts playing seniors she can get the wins and pick up ranking points quickly.

And a main draw WC for next year.... unless the LTA/AELTC stop the policy of giving the junior slam winner a WC now that a Brit has won it