Laura Robson Upsets Li Na At US Open
Laura Robson beat another tough opponent today at the U.S. Open. The 18-year-old British Teen ended Kim Clijsters career earlier this week and today she took down 2011 French Open champ Li Na.
Robson will now have to face defending champion Sam Stosur in the next round.
Robson entered the U.S. Open this year ranked 89th. Sports Illustrated reports that up until this week she had never been passed the second round of a major tournament and has never defeated a player in the top 10.
“I have had a fairly tough draw, haven’t I? … I have had lots of tough matches against some very experienced opponents, so the way that I see it, it was time to start winning a few of them.”
Robson won the 2008 Wimbledon girls title at the age of 14 and is currently the youngest woman ranked in the top 100. She is the first woman since 1998 to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam event.
Robson will need to pull off another big upset if she wants to continue playing at the U.S. Open. Stosur entered the tournament ranked 7th and is clearly the favorite against Robson. But the 18-year-old has a full head of steam and some new confidence that could guide her to another upset.
Stosur said:
“I have never played Laura before. She’s obviously full of confidence and had two very, very good wins. Definitely, I can’t go into that match lightly. I have to go out there and be on my game and ready to play some good tennis. She hasn’t been at too many tournaments where I’ve been able to watch her, so I have to do some homework and talk to my coach. It can be tricky playing someone [on a hot streak]. She’s got nothing to lose, after two of the best wins of her career. She’s starting to live up to the potential people have talked about from when she won junior Wimbledon when she was 14. I can’t go into it lightly. She will come out swinging.”
