Robson relishing Serena clash

 

Originally published on: 14/05/13 00:00

A week after upsetting world No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska in Madrid, Robson ousted Venus Williams at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to set up a second-round clash with the top seed.

Robson has never played the 15-time Grand Slam champion, but boasting wins over the likes of Li Na, Petra Kvitova, Kim Clijsters and now Venus Williams, the Brit has an ability to rise to the big occasion.

"I've never played her before and I've always wanted to," Robson said of Serena. "It will be a good test. She's playing pretty much the best tennis of her life right now. She's not losing, at all. It's going to be insanely tough, but I'm going to go out there with nothing to lose.”

Robson, who was crowned Wimbledon girls' champion aged 14 in 2008, the year Venus won the last of her five titles at the All England Club, was pleased to finally have the chance to play the 32-year-old.

“I saw her play Wimbledon when I was about 10 and I was kind of blown away by how hard she hit the ball," Robson said of her opponent. "When she hit it in the centre of the racket today it was basically point over, so I just had to take my chances when I had them.

“It's definitely a good win. She didn't play her best and it's always hard to play a high-quality game of tennis in the wind. I wish it could have been a better standard, but I'm happy to have won."

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