It has been a topsy-turvy week for Wimbledon’s tennis starlet Laura Robson but, as has been the case for the majority of this season, it ended in disappointment.
The 19-year-old split from Croatian coach Zelijko Krajan just before this week’s Madrid Open, where she beat a player ranked in the top five in the world for the first time in her career.
However, the straight sets second round win over world number four Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday was off-set with a disappointing defeat in the third round on Wednesday.
The 2-1 reverse against the world number 16 Ana Ivanovic ended with one of 11 double faults.
Robson, who has suffered six first-round defeats on the WTA tour this season, plans to work with coaches Sven Groeneveld and Mats Merkel in Rome next week, when she features in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Robson, now ranked 41 in the world, goes to Italy with three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker believing she will one day win a Grand Slam – provided she adopts a trait of her GB rival Heather Watson.
The last British female to win a Grand Slam was Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and Becker believes, with Watson’s grit, Robson can one day end more than 30 years of hurt.
“Laura is very talented, she’s a fantastic shot maker and I love watching her play,” said Becker, speaking at the national trials for the Barclays ball kids programme.
“Tennis-wise and talent-wise, she is right up there. “In my mind she has got the game that can definitely take her into the top 10 in the world.
“And while Laura is the shot maker on the other side you’ve got Heather who is just a grinder and is so gutsy when her back is against the wall.
“But the truth is you need to have a bit of both in you, the shot maker and the counter puncher, to be a great player.
“If you put Laura and Heather together then you would be looking at the greatest British female player of all time most probably.”
Advice: Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker believes Laura Robson can break into the top 10 in the world
Robson shot to prominence almost five years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title before finishing as runner-up at the junior Australian Open in both 2009 and 2010.
Having shown she can perform at Grand Slam level at this year’s Australia Open, where she beat Petra Kvitova, and with last year’s US Open win over Kim Clijsters behind her, Becker insists the next step is doing it again at the three remaining majors of 2013.
“People have to remember that, while it may feel like Laura has been around forever, she is still very young,” he said.
“Consistency is the next key step for her now. She has had some great results over the past couple of years but you need to back it up every week.
“Unfortunately in tennis, one good shot is not enough. You have to find a certain level of shot making that helps you in the first round, the second round and the tournament the week after.”
For more information on becoming a Barclays Ball Kid at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, visit barclaysballkids.com.
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