Robson admits benefit of Olympic experience

 

Originally published on: 01/09/12 00:00

Laura Robson believes that the experience she gained at the Olympics, where she suffered a narrow defeat to Maria Sharapova in the second round of the singles competition, has played a part in her remarkable performances at the US Open.

“In that match I definitely felt like I should have won the first set,” Robson said. “It was extremely close, and then I just made a few silly mistakes and just didn't move my feet as much as I should have. So what I have been working on since then is making sure that I do move my feet and just continuously make one extra ball.”

Robson became the first British player to reach the fourth round of the US Open for 21 years when she beat Li Na, the 2011 French Open champion, after beating Kim Clijsters, three times a US Open champion, in the previous round, before eventually falling to defending champion Sam Stosur 6-4 6-4.

Although she lost in the second round of the singles at the Olympics, Robson and Andy Murray won the silver medal in the mixed doubles. Asked how much that experience had helped her with her confidence at the US Open, Robson said: “Mixed doubles is very, very different to singles, so it's hard to transfer that on to the singles court. But Andy and I played some great matches at the Olympics. We were really close to gold. I feel like I'm playing better now than I was then, especially with my serve.”

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