Tennis: Laura Robson shows mettle but GB fail to halt Swedes’ progress

GREAT Britain were condemned to defeat in their Fed Cup tie against Sweden after a creditable singles debut for Laura Robson ended in defeat to Sofia Arvidsson.

The teenager acquitted herself better than senior partners Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong on Saturday, when the pair suffered respective straight-sets defeats to Johanna Larsson and Arvidsson.

Robson was beaten 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 yesterday as Arvidsson wrapped up Sweden’s promotion to World Group II.

A similarly emphatic result to Saturday’s matches appeared on the cards when Arvidsson roared into a 4-0 first-set lead. Robson battled back to extend the set but could not force a tie-break. She took her momentum into the second set, though, powering to a 6-1 win to force a decider.

The Swede broke to lead 4-2 in the final set. Robson dug deep to save eight match points before Arvidsson finally wrapped up victory.

Robson said: “Maybe in a few days I’ll think it was a pretty good effort but right now I’m devastated. In Fed Cup you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for your country.”

The result means Great Britain will play in Europe/Africa Zone Group I next year. Robson’s defeat left two dead rubbers to play and though Keothavong improved on her first-day showing, she could not prevent Larsson extending Sweden’s margin to 4-0. The first set went to a tie-break after one break of serve apiece, Larsson prevailing 8/6. Keothavong levelled the match in a set featuring five breaks but lost her serve twice more in the deciding set to go down 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-4.

Britain gained a small measure of consolation in the closing doubles rubber as Baltacha and Heather Watson beat Ellen Allgurin and Hilda Melander 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.

Team captain Judy Murray said: “There is a lot to be excited about with some very positive performances from the team today and we managed to get a win in the doubles, which was a great way to finish. We’re very, very proud of Laura. She left nothing on the court and there was so little in it.

Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal blazed to an eighth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title yesterday as he ended a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. The Spaniard wrapped up a disappointingly one-sided contest with an ace after 78 minutes to win his first title since last year’s French Open and send put down an ominous marker for the rest of the claycourt season.