US Open Day 7: Robson

Curtain Call

Player: Laura Robson
Age: 18
Nation: UK
Current Ranking: 89
Notable Conquests: Na Li (China, 9th seed) and Kim Clijsters (Belgium, 23rd)
Today's Result: loss to Samantha Stosur (Australia, 7th) in straight sets

Photo via Twitter

I first wrote about Robson a couple of years ago.  Even at the tender age of 16, the extraordinary talent was obvious.  The past few weeks have been very kind to her indeed.  She won silver alongside Andy Murray in mixed doubles at the Olympics.  Now, she's just made the second week of a Major for the first time in her career, taking out two seeded Slam champions along the way.  If she continues to rocket up the rankings, pressure could begin to approach the Murray/Henman level by the time Wimbledon rolls around next year.


Catching Up with Old Friends

Varvara Lepchenko (Curtain Call, Roland Garros Day 9) - It's been a fantastic summer for Lepchenko.  The 26-year-old had never been past the second round of a Major in her career and now she's done it three times in a row, reaching the third round in New York.  Once there, she lost to Stosur, the defending champion.  Her ranking will get yet another boost and she should be in good shape to get a seed in Melbourne.  In women's doubles, she and partner Saisai Zheng (China) lost in the first round to Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci (Italy, 2nd).  In mixed doubles, she and fellow American Donald Young made it to the second round before losing to Lucie Hradecka/Frantisek Cermak (Czech Republic).


Golden Squid Report

Sloane Stephens (Golden Squid since 6/29/12) - Stephens matched last year's US Open result by reaching the third round, ultimately losing to Ana Ivanovic (Serbia, 12th) in three sets.  She took out another former French Open champ, Francesca Schiavone (Italy, 22nd) in the first round.  She teamed with Timea Babos (Hungary) in women's doubles and they lost to Janette Husarova/Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia).  In mixed, she and fellow American Rajeev Ram won their first match but took a walkover in the second round to the top seeds: Liezel Huber (USA)/Max Mirnyi (Belarus).  Her ranking is up to #44 and she doesn't even turn 20 until March.  2013 could be a big year.