Laura beat Katarena Paliivets
6-3 6-2
 Q. Does it feel like starting all over again?
LAURA ROBSON: What, to seniors you mean?
Q. Wimbledon.
LAURA ROBSON: No (smiling). I've already been
here for a week.
Q. But it's a fresh start.
LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, but I've still like been
here. I don't know. But yeah, it's a new
tournament.
Q. Was it a bit nerve-wracking defending a
title?
LAURA ROBSON: Defending it?
Q. Yeah, trying to win it again. You know,
you are the champion there to be beaten.
LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, but it was only first
round.
Q. That's what I mean, though; every girl
is playing you as the champion, aren't they?
LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, I wasn't really nervous
today, so it was fine.
Q. How would you rate your performance
today?
LAURA ROBSON: I think I could have played a
bit better, and I just -- just shot-selection
wise, but for a first round match against a
tricky player, I thought it was pretty good.
Q. How many autographs did you have to
sign after your first round fixture in the
girls' championship last summer? Because you
were detained quite a long time when you came
off court tonight.
LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, I got a letter, as well.
A young guy slipped me a letter.
Q. What was in the letter?
LAURA ROBSON: Don't know. Didn't read it.
Q. It's not a proposal, is it?
LAURA ROBSON: I wouldn't know. I hope not
because then I would have to decline.
(Laughter.)
No, last year I think there were still quite
a few people, just like, oh, it's a tennis
player, might as well get her autograph. But
this year, hopefully they know who I am.
Q. Last year did you have to sign any
autographs and then say who you were?
LAURA ROBSON: No, but I got a couple last
year where they were like, "Yeah, can you sign
this," and then they'd ask, "No, can you
actually like sign your name rather than just
your signature." But yeah, this year they seemed
to know who I am, which is good.
Q. Have you noticed any difference in the
way other girls look at you seeing as you're
making that step up to the seniors?
LAURA ROBSON: No. Everyone is pretty much the
same.
But like a couple of girls already in the
juniors have already played Grand Slams, so it's
the same for all of us. Like I think Mladenovic
has played three Grand Slams.
Q. Do you feel as though you are a marked
woman, a marked girl, in this championship? You
are, as it's been said, the defending champion.
You're there to be taken down. Last year you
came onto the scene sort of under the radar.
This year you're very much --
LAURA ROBSON: Well, I'm not the No. 1 seed,
and I've lost to a couple of the girls in the
draw, so I wouldn't say I'm the one -- I'm
probably the one everyone wants to beat because
I won it last year. But there's quite a few
other girls in the draw that are pretty tough,
too.
Q. Do you feel that weight of expectation?
LAURA ROBSON: No. Nope. Simple answer.
Q. What are your expectations then?
LAURA ROBSON: My own expectations are just to
play as well as I can and then hopefully the
results will come with that. And also just work
on a couple things in my game.
Q. How much at this stage of your tennis
do you get from a junior championship when the
main draw is there to be attacked?
LAURA ROBSON: What, how much --
Q. How much benefit to your tennis
development is playing a junior championship?
LAURA ROBSON: Juniors is still like a main
part of my schedule, a lot bigger than seniors.
So it's still the main thing that I'm going for.
So at the moment juniors is still more important
than seniors because I've still got like US Open
Juniors coming up and everything.
Q. I spoke to Melanie Oudin that you beat
in the second round last year. She decided not
to this year because she had done enough
juniors. Is that just an age thing?
LAURA ROBSON: No, it's up to the individual
because I know Michelle Larcher De Brito stopped
playing juniors when she was like 14, which in
my opinion might have been a bit young because
then it really limits the amount of tournaments
you can play each year.
No, I mean, it's up the individual. I'm happy
to keep playing juniors.
Q. After your witty exchange with an
Australian at the press conference after last
year's final, has there been any other attempts
by any Australians to claim you as one of their
own?
LAURA ROBSON: Not that I know of. I think
there were a couple of journalists in Australia,
and they were like "Yeah, do you still feel any
connection to Australia?" And I'm like, "No.
No."
Q. Will you read the letter you received
or has it already gone in the bin?
LAURA ROBSON: I didn't put it in the bin. My
coach took it and I don't know what he's done
with it. But I think it all goes into a pile,
which I might read and I might not.
Q. That's not usual, though, is it, to
receive letters after you come off court
presumably?
LAURA ROBSON: They don't usually personally
give them to me. They usually just send them in
the mail because the assistants came up to me
with a massive pile after I played Daniela, and
they were like, "Please, take it, it's just
loading up the whole mail area." But yeah.
Q. How many would you say there were?
LAURA ROBSON: Probably about -- over 20 I'd
say, but then there was like some with little
stickers on them. People get quite into it.
Q. Will you be replying to them?
LAURA ROBSON: I don't know, yeah. It depends.
If it's from -- no, it depends. I'll stop there.
Q. What was it like playing in the first
week? You played Hantuchova, Mauresmo and
Kuznetsova, then you had to go back and play a
junior. Was it tough to adjust in the first few
games of the match?
LAURA ROBSON: Well, I thought the girl today
was tricky because she really kind of rushed on
her own service game, so it was hard for me to
get a rhythm the first couple games. But once I
got into it, I felt that I really took control
in the rallies more and that she couldn't really
do anything.
Q. What about the smaller crowds? Is that
noticeable when you're on court, and you're not
playing on Court 2, you're on Court 14? Do you
notice?
LAURA ROBSON: I don't mind which court I play
on. They're all the same grass courts to me, so
yeah.
It would have been a bit silly if they put me
on a bigger court for my first round junior
match, so it was good scheduling.
|
