• Laura Robson backed to rise above interview controversy • ‘I like her desire and her work ethic’ If anyone starts singing Tell Laura I Love Her in the women’s locker room at Wimbledon this year, it will be laced with sarcasm. Only her natural charm enabled Laura Robson, the 16-year-old Londoner, to limit the damage of her recent Vogue interview, in which she dismissed some of the girls on the circuit as “sluts” who “go with every guy”, a remark for which she apologised and insisted was taken out of context. The nudge-nudge sniggers doing the rounds in tennis subsequently questioned not the veracity of the allegation but why it was exclusively trained on heterosexual activity. Remarks such as, “Do you think we will have an all-lesbian final this summer?” raised the usual “fnah-fnah”. The tennis circuit may be marketed as a whistle-clean marketing opportunity, but it is as prone to human frailty, back-biting and hypocrisy as any other walk of life. Shenanigans aside, the substance of Robson’s observation revealed more about her own upright views and Home Counties upbringing than it did about her intended targets. It also showed a steeliness of character and independence that might stand her in good stead for as long as she lasts in the tournament – not to mention her career – against some of these flighty young things from backgrounds of lesser righteousness. Laura is a wild card here in more ways than one. Lindsay Davenport also brought with her to the imposing halls of Wimbledon the values and habits of a spotless middle-class background, winning the championship from nowhere and gracing the top of the game earlier this decade with the sort of low-key Californian charm that almost went unnoticed. “I’m not that interesting!” she insists. “I’m just very normal, on an even keel. I never had tons of friends on tour. I was quiet and went about my business. To be honest, it wasn’t a huge story to tell.” But Davenport, who just turned 34 and returns to Wimbledon this year in the mixed doubles with Bob Bryan, alongside her broadcasting duties with the BBC, recognises the pressures on young players and sounded a warning for Robson and the other “poppets”. “Some of them can’t handle the world in general. A great example is Nicole Vaidisova, such a great player. Whether it was the money or the lifestyle, she had a meltdown. It’s a shame she’s still not out there winning. There are a lot of components you have to be comfortable with: winning, losing, the media, travelling, the people around you. Not a lot of players have done it successfully for a long period of time.” The pressures on Robson, she says, are multiplied by the expectations of a nation, especially at Wimbledon. “I couldn’t imagine being from a country where all the pressure is on a particular player. I don’t know if I could have handled it, the way the media would have been so intense, especially on a teenage girl like Laura – and I also didn’t have people following me or reporting on my every move.” So, where did this nice, unblemished survivor of the system, a former world No1, think Robson’s tennis was at the moment? “Hmm … developing. She’s obviously got a pretty long way to go to get up to the top but, from everything I’ve heard about her, she works very hard. From what I’ve seen about her as a player, she’s trying to develop a bigger weapon – and it does take a certain amount of time to get comfortable on the tour – comfortable winning matches, managing your schedule. “But she’s great. I like her attitude, I like her desire and her work ethic. She also has to learn how to lose. Some times you lose more than you win. It’s about handling losses and trying to turn them into positives. You get out into the big leagues and there’s a period of adjustment to be made. You’ve got to handle it.” Davenport says, though, that the younger girls are finding it tougher than they used to – partly because older players are extending their careers, notably Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, not to mention the Williams sisters. “I read a stat that [Caroline] Wozniacki is the only teenager in the top 25. We have a couple who just turned 20. In the history of women’s tennis, it never happened. There’s always been someone 16 or 17 that’s burst on to the scene and gone to the top. “The sport has become more athletic, so it favours some players later in their development. They’re stronger, faster, not just blessed with phenomenal skills. It’s nice to see some players in their 30s [doing well], because players I grew up with pretty much all retired in their 20s. It shows a lot of people in other sports that we can still play, even though we’re a little bit older.” And wiser, maybe. Laura Robson Wimbledon Tennis Kevin Mitchell guardian.co.uk
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Laura Robson has attitude to excel at Wimbledon says Lindsay Davenport
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