Robson back on the Wimbledon lawns
Laura Robson will bounce back onto the lawns of Wimbledon as the only British woman left in the singles grand slam.
The teenage tennis star will take on Columbia’s Mariana Duque-Marino, the world number 117, in the fourth match on Court Two.
The tie comes after Robson boosted the morale of the home crowd at SW19 on Tuesday when she defeated 10th seed Maria Kirilenko to become the only British woman to make the second round.
The victory meant the 19-year-old also became the first British woman to beat a top-10 player at the All England Club for 15 years.
She will play her second round match shortly after Serena Williams faces her French opponent, Caroline Garcia, on Court One.
Over on Centre Court, Novak Djokovic takes on Bobby Reynolds, Juan Martin Del Potro faces Jesse Levine and Agnieszka Radwanska will square off against Mathilde Johansson.
Fans will be hoping that the All England Club will escape any showers which could hit SW19 when Robson steps onto the court.
Her second round match follows a victory in the women’s doubles, when she and American player Lisa Raymond saw off Australian Sam Stosur and her Italian team-mate Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-1.
Their triumph came on what Robson suggested was the “craziest” day ever at Wimbledon.
While Andy Murray kept his dreams of glory alive and sailed into the third round with a victory over Lu Yen-hsun, a string of top players, including Roger Federer, made early departures which left the sporting world reeling.
Federer, 31, was pushed out by Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, 27, in a match which ended the Swiss player’s run of 36 consecutive grand slam quarter-final appearances.
His wife, Mirka, appeared to wipe tears from her eyes as he bowed out following his loss to the relatively unknown player, ranked 116 in the world.
His dramatic exit came after world number three Maria Sharapova crashed out following a noisy match against world number 131, Michelle Larcher De Brito, in which she strained a muscle after losing her footing on three occasions.
Sharapova, 26, left the contest hours after second seed Victoria Azarenka – who was due to take on Italy’s Flavia Pennetta – pulled out because of an injured knee caused during a slip in her first round clash.
She was one of seven players, including Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to withdraw from the grand slam – a record on any single day at Wimbledon.
Azarenka, 23, later hit out at the condition of the courts and called on the All England Club to investigate whether conditions may have caused players to tumble.
Meanwhile Sharapova, 26, who was seen mouthing what appeared to be the words “this court is dangerous” during the match, later described conditions on the Wimbledon lawns as “slippery”.
“I don’t think I’ve ever fallen three times in a match before in my career so that was a little strange,” the Russian said.
Other players who have fallen since the tournament began include Novak Djokovic, Dustin Brown and Caroline Wozniacki.
Richard Lewis, chief executive of the All England Club, issued a statement insisting the lawns were “as they should be”.
“The court preparation has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years and it is well known that grass surfaces tend to be more lush at the start of an event,” he said.
How are yu enjoying Wimbledon 2013 so far?
The Press Association
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