18 year old Laura Robson put on a convincing display in her first round match today at the Australian Open against American Melanie Oudin, to progress to round two for the first time at Melbourne Park.

The British number two, who was last year named the WTA’s newcomer of the year, took an hour and a quarter to seal the match 6-2 6-3. A strong serve, that saw her hit 11 aces, and a flurry of forehand winners meant that her 21 year old American opponent struggled to make her mark on court.

“I think I played pretty well, just not as well as I would have liked to. Hopefully in the next match it will be a bit better,” said Robson.

“I can hit it pretty hard these days but I think the key is moving around the ball enough to get it to where I want it to go every time. Today I just hit a few balls late here and there, where I should have just moved my feet a little bit.”

Robson, who was born in Melbourne, is ranked 31 places higher than Oudin. Like Robson, Oudin herself was tipped as a name to watch at the age of 18 when she reached the quarter finals of the US Open with wins against Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova.

But here it’s the British teenager who all eyes are on, as she moves on to a second round tie against fellow left hander and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

“I’ll go in with nothing to lose again,” said Robson. “I seem to play pretty well when I do that. It’s going to be tough, two lefties playing each other. I haven’t played a lefty in a while, so I’m going to have to try as best I can.”

British number 1 Heather Watson will face Ksenia Pervak of Kazhakstan tomorrow in her second round tie.

Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine