Robson on a hat-trick hunt

Stewart Fisher

Sports Writer

Sunday 2 September 2012

THE enormity of what Laura Robson has achieved at the US Open in the last few days has yet to sink in.

Laura Robson is revelling playing in New York Photograph: Getty

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Stewart Fisher

Should the 18-year-old continue the startling standard of play which has taken her past Samantha Crawford, Kim Clijsters and Li Na, and defeat defending champion Sam Stosur in the fourth round today, she will become the first British female to reach the quarter-finals of any Grand Slam for close to 30 years.

She would also become only the third woman to beat three major winners in successive matches. When you consider the others were Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2003 and Kim Clijsters at the 2005 US Open, Robson is in some pretty exalted company.There has even been some wild talk about her going on to win the title. In all likelihood, her life will never be the same, but Robson has yet to fully consider the ramifications of her newly-acquired celebrity status. "I haven't really thought about it. But if it helps me get an upgrade on long-haul flights then I am happy," she joked.Although Robson has clearly shown potential since winning the Wimbledon junior title as a 14-year-old, any analysis of what has suddenly happened to her game must mention the time she spent with Andy Murray in the Olympic mixed doubles, and a recent coaching change which has seen her bring in the disciplinarian Zeljko Krajan and begin working on her movement with Murray's fitness coach, Jez Green.Robson revealed the invitation to Green was at her behest, rather than due to any prompting from the men's world No 4. However it came about, Robson now clearly displays and appetite for chasing down balls she would previously have given up on in the past."We approached Jez to see if he would have some time to work with me over the summer and he did. It has been really great and I enjoy working with him," Robson said. "The work I have done with Jez is more about maintenance during events rather than huge training sessions. What I have been working on is making sure I move my feet and continually make one extra ball and make it a little bit harder for my opponents."Nice as the idea might be of Robson becoming the first British woman in a Grand Slam quarter-final since Jo Durie at Wimbledon in 1984, there is a problem. Her name is Stosur, and she looks in excellent form as she attempts to retain the title she won in a dramatic final against Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago.The Brisbane native hit with the Melbourne-born Robson at last year's Wimbledon but this will be their first meeting on the tour. "It is a new opponent and I have to do some homework and talk to my coach a little bit about it," Robson said. "For sure it could be a tricky match. But when it comes down to the crunch, you have to back yourself."New coach or not, Robson has been sticking to her usual routine since touching down in the Big Apple and shunning the attractions the city has to offer."When I first arrived I managed to make it to a couple of shops but since then I have been focusing on the tennis and preparing for each match," she said."Hopefully I will get the chance to visit the SoHo shops before I leave NYC, because I really love the area."Whatever happens today, when it comes to the grand arenas of world tennis, Robson is no longer a tourist.

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Robson on a hat-trick hunt

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