After her dramatic victory over Kim Clijsters in the 2nd round of the US Open, it would have been natural to be prepared for a disappointment when Laura Robson took on the 9th seed, Li Na, in the 3rd round. Any such preparation would have been wasted.
The super-cool 18 year old won the first set 6-4, lost the second on a tie-break and, despite a bit of questionable umpiring, won the third 6-2 to book a place in the 4th round, the first British woman to get so far in a Grand Slam event since 1998. At the end, China's Li Na looked thoroughly fed up and barely acknowledged her opponent when they met at the net, a massive contrast with the good grace shown by Clijsters.
As with her previous match, this was a contest that Robson won and not one that her opponent lost. In fact, it would have been easy for her to have faded away after the disappointment of losing the second set tie-break, but she was having none of it. It was Robson who put huge pressure on Li's service early in the 3rd and eventually broke her opponent's spirit, breaking serve twice and winning the last 4 game; she needed only one match point to seal the biggest win of her career to date.
Next up will be the reigning champion, Australian Sam Stosur. Without doubt, Robson has shown that she has the ability to give Stosur a real run for her money and Stosur knows it; it will be tough but if she plays as she has been, and keeps that wonderful temerament of hers, Robson can win this one too.
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