Saturday 20 June 2009

Step forward Federer, Murray....Robson?


50 weeks ago to the day the centre court was packed to the rafters, with millions more watching at home, as most of the nation watched the Williams sisters battle it out for the Wimbledon women's singles title.

My eyes however, not being a fan of the Williams sisters in the slightest, was well and truly transfixed on Court 1, and on a diminutive young Brit who was to be thrust into the limelight at the tender age of 14.

Laura Robson, while the sisters Venus and Serena were fighting each other for the big prize of the day, was winning the junior Wimbledon title, beating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1, becoming the first Brit to win the girls event since Anabel Croft won in 1984.

Nearly a year on and Wimbledon is set to begin its 2009 version, centre court roof and all, on Monday, with Robson being awarded a wild card by the All England Club into the main draw for her achievements over the previous 12 months which has seen her reach another junior grand slam final, and become the junior world number one.

The draw, which was released on Friday, was not so kind to young Robson, pitting her against the highest ranked player not to be seeded, world number 33 Daniela Hantuchova.

The match up between the veteran - despite being just 26 years of age - Slovakian and the teenage Brit could be seen as some sort of changing of the guard in some aspects, but may also remind Robson, if she needed it, that sometimes fame, pressure and prestige, can come too early in a tennis players career. All that she needs to be reminded of this is to look across the net come Monday or Tuesday.

Hantuchova broke onto the scene back in 2002, winning Indian Wells and reaching the top 5 in the world. She was seen as being potentially someone who could break the dominance of the Williams sisters, who at the time had complete control over the women's game.

Alas this wasn't to be the case, as Hantuchova's fall from grace began at the 2003 Wimbledon, where seeded 9th, she lost a tight second round encounter, 12-10 in the final set, to Shinobu Asagoe.

With heightened media speculation over her weight and figure, as well as the pressure coming from tennis circles regarding her potential greatness, Hantuchova broke down in tears, crying between points as she lost the match.

The media has always had its criticisms when it comes to hype, and naturally they hyped up Robson after her Wimbledon triumph last year. But so far, in the grand scheme of things, Robson has been well looked after in terms of media coverage, helped by opting not to take the usual leap into the professional game and sticking with the junior and smaller ITF events.

The last few months have seen Robson go through a bit of a growth spurt, which in turn has prevented her from playing much in the lead up to Wimbledon, but while the nation will be watching Roger Federer, as he begins his attempt at becoming the most successful tennis player in history, Andy Murray, in his attempt to rewrite British tennis history, and the Williams sisters, as they fight for another jolt at the Wimbledon title that they have won seven times between them, my eyes will, for the first round at least, be on Robson, as she makes her Grand Slam bow, the starting point of what, if done right, will be a great career in world tennis.

No comments:

Post a Comment