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WIMBLEDONJune 25, 2013Laura RobsonLONDON, ENGLAND L. ROBSON/M. Kirilenko THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You like Court No.1, don't you? LAURA ROBSON: I like all the courts here. They're very nice. Q. How significant a victory was that for you? LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, I think it was a big one for me because although I really like grass and I seem to play well on it, I've never actually done overly well here. I've only made the second round once. So, yeah, it was a big win for me. I think it was good that I managed to tough it out after I got so nervous in the second set. And, yeah, I'm happy. Q. Talk us what was going through your mind when you were tossing the ball up in the final game. Looked nervous. LAURA ROBSON: If you've seen me play before, that's nothing new, unfortunately. It's something that I'm working on. Throwing the ball up, catching it, trying to find the right ball toss has been happening for a long time. Q. In the first set you didn't do that hardly at all. Was that because you feel so comfortable at Wimbledon? LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, I think, you know, nerves start to creep in a little bit and you just lose the timing a tad. You know, I'm in the process of changing my serve a little bit. So I just had to kind of refocus on doing the right things and, you know, keep trying to hit the big shots. Q. You've had some big wins in your career. Where does this one rank? LAURA ROBSON: I mean, any top‑10 win is a good win. So it's obviously up there. You know, I went into the match very confident. Yeah, so I was confident before the match. But, you know, I think if you go into these matches without confidence, then, uhm, you shouldn't be going out there. Q. You've been working with Miles Maclagan for the last few weeks. Has there already been a noticeable change in your game? LAURA ROBSON: I don't think so. Very minor changes. Now is not the time to start bringing any big ones in, in the middle of the grass season. Yeah, we're going to see how it goes and, uhm, hopefully, you know, keep playing like I did today. Q. You've obviously done incredibly well. You're the only British female who has got through the first round in singles. What do you think is wrong with female tennis in Britain? LAURA ROBSON: Nothing. You know, I think everyone had tough matches. You know, before this week, everyone was playing really well. So it's unfortunate that no one else made the second round. But that happens sometimes. Last year I lost in the first round. So, uhm, yeah, you know, you go through stages of ups and downs like everyone else. Q. Do you feel you have the game to beat a top 4 player this week or next week? LAURA ROBSON: I don't know. Uhm, yeah, you know, I don't think there's a massive difference between being 9 and 6. So, uhm, yeah, we'll see how it goes. I have to win my next round first. Q. Maria Sharapova yesterday said she's not very close to many people on the tour. I noticed she did the introduction to your Gangnam style video. Do you have a good relationship with her? LAURA ROBSON: We're not best buddies. But it's not a big deal. You know, she was nice enough to do that for me. I kind of ambushed her, so she didn't really have a choice (smiling). But, yeah, you know, it's a competitive sport, obviously. She doesn't have to be best buddies with everyone. But, uhm, yeah, you know, she still says hi and everything's fine. Q. Do you relish playing the top seeds, and how does it affect your game? LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, I think I go out against the top players with nothing to lose, and, uhm, you know, I've always been like that. And in the past I've started out well in the first couple of games of the first set and then just not been able to hold on to that lead. I've been really happy with my progress with the last couple months with that and, yeah, just being able to tough out wins. Q. You talked about the boost you got during the Olympics. Is that something you'd like to encourage them to do again? LAURA ROBSON: The crowd were really good today, I thought. They're always very good, but it was just a different atmosphere at the Olympics, most probably because we were playing for Great Britain rather than just ourselves. Yeah, it would be great for everyone to get behind us. Q. Is it difficult to shut it out when the crowd sort of go, Ohhh, when you miss a shot? It's a very unique thing to Wimbledon. LAURA ROBSON: No, it's most tournaments. The general disappointment when you hit a double‑fault can get to you sometimes, just because you're feeling that disappointment, too. You don't really need 9,000 people telling you. Uhm, but, yeah, I thought everyone was good today. Hopefully they'll be like that at my next match. Q. The state of British tennis. Are we wrong to judge it in terms of how the players do at Wimbledon? That seems to be the barometer that everyone uses. LAURA ROBSON: For us, we're playing week in, week out pretty much. You know, obviously Wimbledon is a massive tournament, so if you don't do well, then it's disappointing. But, you know, Bali won a challenger a couple weeks ago, and she's been injured for the majority of the year. That was a great result for us. Everyone else is doing well. So it's hard for all the British players to come in here and, you know, lose first round because you just feel extra disappointed. Q. You've opened up your part of the draw. What now would be a good tournament for you? LAURA ROBSON: I haven't thought about it. I'm still, uhm, going match by match, as I said before the tournament. And, uhm, I just have to play my own game and stay focused and, uhm, I think I'm playing Duque‑Marino next. Yeah, she's tough for sure, she's pretty consistent. I think she's got quite a nasty little slice. So, yeah, it's going to be a tough match. Q. A lot has been made of the Andy Murray documentary on Sunday night. During the program you tweeted that you're so competitive you spent seven hours trying to beat you at a video game. Sounds like you've got a very good relationship, and maybe you can inspire each other maybe? LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, you know, it's obviously great when we both do well. But, uhm, we're focused on our own things. And he's playing extremely well at the moment. So, obviously, yeah, I hope he does well. Q. I'm not sure how Tara is getting on at the moment, but do you feel a lot of pressure as potentially the only woman going forward in the tournament? What sort of pressure do you feel? LAURA ROBSON: Not a lot. Uhm, you know, I've always been one to just focus on myself and not worry about everyone else's expectations. Yeah, you know, I thought I played well today, so I'm just looking to take that form into the next match. Q. Back to Andy Murray, has he said anything about you calling him a dork? LAURA ROBSON: No. It's not the first time, though. So he's fine. Q. Obviously a higher‑ranked player in the next round. How do you feel about going into the match? LAURA ROBSON: I think you have to treat every match the same. You know, just go out there, stay focused the whole time. You know, you might not have a good start, have a couple bad games. You just have to stay on it no matter who you're playing. Yeah, just believe that you can pull through. Q. Wondered if you had a chance to speak to your mum and if she's regretting not finding a dog sitter? LAURA ROBSON: I haven't spoken to her on the phone but I've texted her and everything. She always texts me back during the matches, as well. So when I get off the court, I've got like eight messages to read, generally about catching the ball toss (smiling). So, yeah, you know, she's obviously pretty excited. But I've got the rest of my family here. All my relatives are watching in Australia. So, yeah, they're very happy. Q. Your brother was watching from the sidelines I noticed. What is it like with him working here? LAURA ROBSON: He's been working here since the first year I played basically. So, yeah, we're all used to it. They're nice enough to let him off for a couple hours when I'm playing. Yeah, I guess it's nice. It's a bit weird seeing him, like, in his outfit sitting on the side of the court rather than up in the box. Q. I know she's obviously ranked in the top 10, but did you half expect to win this match or think you should win today? LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, I thought I could win. I didn't expect to win. You know, I thought if I go out there and play well and try and dominate from the start, uhm, keep the first‑serve percentage high, I would give myself the best chance to win. That's what I was trying to focus on and that's what I managed to do. Q. The work that you've done, that made the big difference in the service today in terms of its accuracy? LAURA ROBSON: I'd like to think so. I've done a lot of work in the last couple of weeks. But it's definitely still a work in progress. I threw a couple of double‑faults in towards the end of the match. But, yeah, in general I think it's a more fluid motion and, uhm, I think the placement is getting better. Q. Virginia Wade said on TV shortly after your match that she feels you can achieve something incredible here. What would your measurement of 'incredible' be? LAURA ROBSON: Virginia always gets quite excited, doesn't she (smiling)? Yeah, you know, I'd love to win a couple more matches. But I don't want to get ahead of myself. I think the next one is going to be really tough, so... Just focusing on that. Q. You've spoken a little bit about your nerves, struggling with the ball toss. Do you dread seeing your name coming up on Court1 or Centre Court? Would you prefer to be on one of the outside courts? LAURA ROBSON: No, not at all. You know, my coach asked me before this match whether I had any sort of court requests or something. I was like, I'm happy to play on any court. Yeah, so, Centre Court is perfectly fine for me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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