 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 29 Jun 2009 |
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| 29 Jun 2009 - Wimbledon - Simon Cambers | |
| Mladenovic and Robson win first round matches |
France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Laura Robson of Britain took their first steps towards what could be a title showdown at Wimbledon next weekend as they reached the second round of the girls’ singles on Monday, albeit in vastly contrasting styles.
French Open champion and No 1 seed Mladenovic was pushed to the limit before beating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 63 26 75 but defending champion Robson cruised past another Canadian, Katerina Paliivets, 63 62.
The transition from clay to grass is never an easy one – Amelie Mauresmo was the last girl to win both the French Open and Wimbledon junior titles in the same year, in 1996 – but Mladenovic had warmed up for the championships by winning a title at Roehampton last Saturday.
When she took the first set in 23 minutes, the 16-year-old Mladenovic looked on course for an easy win but Bouchard hit back and recovered an early deficit in the third set before Mladenovic broke in the 11th game and banged down her eighth ace as she held serve to clinch victory.
“Today was a tough match,” she admitted. “Everything was so fast. I knew that she doesn’t hit the ball very strong, but she was very relaxed and I think she had nothing to lose.
“But just because it was 75 in the third set in the first round, it does not mean something is wrong, it’s just that I have played a lot of matches. First rounds are not easy.”
Like Mladenovic, No 2 seed Robson had to wait until late in the day before she came onto court, returning to the juniors after her main draw appearance, when she pushed former world No 5 Daniela Hantuchova to a deciding set.
The 15-year-old said she did not feel any nerves as the defending champion and she hit eight aces on her way to a second-round clash with Australia’s Sally Peers.
“I think I could have played a bit better, shot‑selection wise, but for a first-round match against a tricky player, I thought it was pretty good,” Robson said.
“She really rushed her own service games, so it was hard for me to get a rhythm the first couple of 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.”
There was drama elsewhere as last year’s runner-up, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, the No 4 seed, saved five match points before beating Alejandro Granillo of Mexico 36 63 75.
No 3 seed Ana Bogdan of Romania, Hungary’s Timea Babos (6) and American Sloane Stephens (7) all won through, but Olivia Rogowska, the No 5 seed from Australia, was beaten 63 61 by Lesley Kerkhove of the Netherlands. Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia (8) and Briton Heather Watson (12) also went out.
In the boys’ event, sixth seed Gianni Mina, who looks and plays like his fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils, advanced to the second round with a 64 76 with Britain’s Oliver Golding.
No 7 seed Shuichi Sekiguchi of Japan was hammered 64, 60 by American Devin Britton, while Facundo Arquello of Argentina (14) was the other seed to fall.
Tom Farquharson led three more British boys into the second round after a 36 64 62 win over Italian Alessandro Bega, the 15-year-old qualifier joining Richard Gabb, David Thomson and also Ashley Hewitt, who upset the No 2 seed on Saturday.
“It was all about nerves out there,” Farquharson said. “After a shaky start I got it together and came through. My opponent played really well first set hitting a lot of winners off his forehand. For me it was about settling in.”
“This is a great tournament to be involved in. Especially as a Brit you love Wimbledon, after today’s performance I feel I’ve got a good chance to win my next match.”
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