24th Jun 2013 | Tennis
Kirilenko v Robson
The British number one could rise to the occasion in front of patriotic home support.
Laura Robson faces a daunting task in the first round of Wimbledon against world number 10 Maria Kirilenko, but she has shown she can beat big players in Grand Slams already.
The 19-year-old local girl proved her credentials by defeating Kim Clijsters and Li Na in last year’s US Open before adding the scalp of former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova at the Australian Open in January.
On paper Robson may appear to have a weak record at SW19 up till now but that’s entirely explained by the plethora of top players she has faced at the All-England Club. Indeed, she very nearly ousted Maria Sharapova in 2011.
Now two years older and wiser, the world number 37 could be ready to make a big splash on Court One.
Kirllenko showed signs of vulnerability against another Brit, Elena Baltacha, last week at Eastbourne where she lost the first set before recovering. But the Russian is a class act and it looks like the least we can expect here is a tense three-setter.
If we’re backing Robson, and assuming it will go the distance, then we might as well maximise our value by taking the English youngster to win 2-1 at best odds of 5/1 with Bet365.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 22:45 24th Jun, 2013 but subject to change