Tennis ace arrives in county
Wednesday 24th September 2008, 5:30PM BST.
One of the brightest young names in British sport arrived in Shropshire today after shooting to fame at the home of tennis.
Wimbledon girls’ champion Laura Robson became the first Briton since 1984 to win the Wimbledon junior singles title this summer, sparking huge international interest.
She has already been tipped by top tennis pundits as a potential future women’s champion.
The 14-year-old, who famously said she would take current Wimbledon champion Venus Williams “down” next year, today faced fellow Brit Sarah Borwell in the first round of the International Tennis Federation tournament at Shrewsbury’s Welti Tennis Centre.
The event was also graced by UK number two Elena Baltacha.
Robson, of Middlesex, won the girls’ competition at Wimbledon by defeating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand in the final, becoming the first British female since Annabel Croft to do so.
She now joins the likes of Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis as winner of the junior title and is the youngest player to win the girls’ singles since Hingis in 1994.
Robson made her debut on the adult LTA tour at the 10,000 dollar ITF tournament held in Limoges, France, earlier this month.
She won two matches to qualify for the main draw before having to retire in her second round match.
l Wonder – See StarSport
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