Robson switches on the power at the right time with storming fightback as Briton joins Murray in last 16
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Laura Robson needed to be escorted by security guards through a maze of fans clamouring to show their appreciation for an incredible comeback that secured the 19-year-old British girl a place in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Her route back to the sanctuary of the locker room was made chaotically hazardous, as Robson, the last British woman standing at these Championships, had to play Marina Erakovic on Court No 2 rather than on one of the two main show courts.
It is unimaginable that an American would have been dispatched to a faraway corner of the grounds at the US Open, or an Australian sent to the outback at Melbourne Park.
Comeback: Robson recovered from a poor start to win in three sets
Yet when Robson dropped the first set in 19 minutes, winning just one game, and the silent sympathy of the capacity 4,000 crowd, there was a nodding acceptance that the scheduling committee might have done her a favour. The fewer people condemned to watch her suffer the better, it seemed.
At one set down, 3-5 behind in the second, Robson was being overwhelmed by Erakovic. But nerves on the brink of victory can be just as unsettling as the nerves that, clearly, afflicted Robson at the outset. Erakovic, a 25-year-old from New Zealand, who was born in Croatia, suddenly found her racket had been replaced by a banjo. At least that was the impression she gave.
A forehand that had been striking Robson like a dagger through the heart became a liability. Her serve betrayed her for no more logical reason than that the thought of becoming the first woman from New Zealand to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon petrified her.
Robson grew in stature as Erakovic was shrinking. In her box, coach Miles Maclagan registered his approval. There, too, the British teenager could also see her father, Andrew, and her older sister, Emily, who has travelled to Wimbledon from her home in Australia, and her brother, Nick, who is working on the ground grew at SW19 during his holidays from Durham University.
Floored: Robson hits the deck after slipping in the first set
Fall girl: Robson was blown away in the first set
Brit of all right: Robson had the backing of a partisan home crowd
And then there were the 4,000 supporters, who had queued in deep lines before the start in the hope of seeing Robson join Andy Murray in the second week of Wimbledon. Now they became more noisy, and swollen with new-found belief as she won eight games in succession.
The match had swung so far from Erakovic she could never reach out to reclaim it.
Robson deservedly earned her place in the fourth round for refusing to acknowledge the evidence against her after that calamitous first set.
Her reward tomorrow is a meeting with Kaia Kaneppi, the finest player ever to have been produced in Estonia. ‘I don’t know much about her,’ said Robson. What she does know is that she must improve if she wants to remain in the Championships. ‘I can definitely play better than today,’ said Robson. ‘But it’s tough to play your best tennis all the time.’
Off to a flyer: Erakovic was dominant in the opening set
Robson claimed not to have been disappointed at having to play on Court No 2, where earlier in the first week Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, both formerly ranked world No 1, had been beaten. ‘Court Two is still pretty big,’ she argued. ‘I thought the crowd were great especially towards the end of the second set, and the whole of the third set.’
Erakovic had beaten Robson in their only previous encounter, on grass in Birmingham last summer. Her current ranking of 71 looked a false reflection of her ability on Wimbledon’s grass. For almost two sets, she called most of the shots.
But then Robson remembered that she has a big game of her own, one sufficiently primed to allow her to reach the US Open fourth round last year where, for a time, she shared joint billing with Murray, having beaten Kim Clijsters and Li Na, who have both won major championships. And as Robson began to fire winners, the crowd yelled as one to support her. ‘Laura, Laura,’ they chanted. Erakovic began to feel alone.
Last hope: Robson is the only Brit left in the women's draw
On the back foot: Robson struggled badly in the first set
The first set was now a distant, bad memory for Robson. At her new home in Greece, her mother, Kathy, must have begun to breathe more easily. When asked if her mother would be travelling to Wimbledon, Robson replied: ‘I don’t think so, I’m doing OK without her here.’
Routine is a large part of a tennis player’s existence, and they neither invite change nor like it. So, Kathy Robson will accept offering her daughter support by text message, and the occasional telephone call. Robson herself will embed herself in preparing to play Kaneppi, the biggest match of her career.
When she stepped up to serve for the match, she passed the test with honours. And for the first time in 15 years, Murray and Robson provided Britain with a man and a woman in the last 16 at Wimbledon since Tim Henman and Sam Smith both reached the fourth round.
All smiles: Robson celebrates her win
All smiles: Robson celebrates her win
Robson will surely be granted a show court now. But Kaneppi, the No 46 in the world who has already defeated seventh seed Angelique Kerber, said she will not be intimidated by the crowd support for the British teenager. ‘I am aware of the hysteria around Robson, but it won’t affect me,’ said Kaneppi.
‘I get more fire and fighting spirit when the crowd are against me.’
Yet Robson, too, has nothing to fear except fear itself.
On to the next: Robson faces Alison Riske or Kaia Kanepi in the fourth round
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2351528/Laura-Robson-Wimbledon-fourth-round-defeating-Marina-Erakovic.html#ixzz2XeMRwTuB
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