 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2009 |
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| 01 Jul 2009 - Wimbledon - Simon Cambers | |
| Defending Champion Robson crashes out of Wimbledon |
The form book was well and truly ripped up at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the top seed in the boys’ competition and the defending girls’ champion were sent packing in the third round.
Sweden’s Daniel Berta, the French Open champion and No 1 seed, was beaten 63 63 by American Alexander Domijan, while Laura Robson of Great Britain saw her hopes of a second successive Wimbledon title ruined by Quirine Lemoine of the Netherlands, who won 62 46 86.
Berta had been untroubled in his first two matches but the 6ft 7in Domijan never let him settle. “I tried to focus on taking his serve early, trying to make the points short,” the 17-year-old said. “I wasn’t really worried about what he was going to do.
“My first match was probably the most nervous I’ve been for a long time. Even on the airplane ride here, just because it’s Wimbledon – I’ve never played here before and then you’re finally out there and you’re shocked a bit at first.”
Domijan will now play another American, Devin Britton, a 75 63 winner over Tiago Fernandes. Britton beat Domijan on the way to the title at Roehampton last week and Domijan admitted that he struggles to cope with Britton’s style of play.
“It’s tough because he serves and volleys every time,” Domijan said. “When I saw the draw, that was the match I was looking at. Ninety nine percent of the guys stay back, so it’s different, especially on grass because he only has to hit one volley. You don’t get much of a look.”
Third seed Bernard Tomic ended British interest in the competition with a 63 64 win over 15-year-old Tom Farquharson, while No 4 seed Agustin Velotti of Argentina also made the last eight.
Defending girls’ champion Robson struggled with a back problem but she was also undone by an outstanding performance from 17-year-old Lemoine, in her first Wimbledon.
After the 15-year-old Robson had levelled the match, Lemoine surged ahead 5-3 in the deciding set and though she squandered three match points, she held her nerve to clinch victory with her eighth ace.
(At 5-4) I lost my serve and was choking a little bit,” Lemoine said. “But I was just thinking, I want to break her once and maybe I can win. It was a nice way to finish.”
Robson said her injury worsened as the match wore on. “It felt like I couldn’t really hit the ball that hard, especially on my serve, but I wanted to keep playing.”
The Briton will play in the junior event at the US Open but hinted that she may have played her last Wimbledon junior match. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about seniors next year, but hopefully I’ll be playing it.”
The exit of Robson could be good news for No 4 seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand, who was beaten by the Briton in last year’s final and who had been seeded to face her again in the semi-finals.
In a repeat of last year’s semi-final, world champion Noppawan survived a late fightback from Tamaryn Hendler of Belgium to win 64 63. “I have more pressure than last year, because last year I didn’t have anything,” said the Thai, who now plays No 11 seed Silvia Njiric. “This year is my last year in juniors and I want to win, but I have a very tough draw.”
No 1 seed Kristina Mladenovic will take on American No 7 seed Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals after both girls recorded straight-set wins. Mladenovic beat Japan’s Akiko Omae 63 75 while Stephens saw off Camila Silva, the No 10 seed from Chile, 62 76.
France’s Mladenovic beat Stephens in the semi-finals of the French Open on the way to the title earlier this month and also beat her on grass last week in Roehampton.
“It should be interesting because it’s not like clay, there’s no sliding,” Stephens said. “It’s just quick hits, shorter points, so we’ll see how it goes, how her serve is going tomorrow and how she’s hitting. Hopefully I can pull through it.”
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