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[[ I asked our summer intern, Brad Kallet, to cover a qualifying match yesterday while I was pre-occupied with the draw. I hope you enjoy his report. We've continued to have problems with Typepad (see my alert, below), but I'm hoping the kinks are ironed out in time for you to read this and comment - Pete ]]*
by Brad Kallet, TW Contributing Writer
Upon arriving to Flushing Meadows this morning, I searched the qualifying schedule in hopes of finding a match that jumped out at me. And then to my delight, there it was—at 11 on Court 13, the young British girl Laura Robson was set to square off against the #2 seed in qualifying, Jelena Dokic.
Robson, who's 16, was touted as a future champion after she rolled through the junior ranks with tremendous success, but she has yet to make her mark as a pro, and that was about two years ago. She's currently ranked No. 220, and has only appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam on two occasions (Wimbledon in 2009 and 2010)—that, thanks to the habit of awarding wild card entries to promising homegrown talent.
Dokic, on the other hand, is a resurgent, once troubled prodigy who has had a terrific summer. The Aussie, once a world Top 5 player, has lifted her ranking to a very respectable No. 82. A hard-hitting veteran of 27, she's been on fire, winning three sub-tour level tournaments and 15 matches in a row.
It was going to be a battle between the youngster with huge upside and the ex-superstar attempting to regain glory. I was ready to see a war.
Sitting in the front row of the bleachers as the two players awaited the coin toss, I noticed how differently they appeared to approach the match. Robson seemed composed as she stood still with her hands to her side. Dokic, on the other hand, was jumping up and down, swinging her arms in an effort to loosen up and get pumped. She looked like a woman on a mission, or, quite honestly, an animal waiting to pounce on her prey.
Once the first ball went up, the players’ mannerisms prior to the match directly translated to their actions on court. Robson was cool and collected, barely showing any emotion as she hit her picture-perfect strokes. Her opponent, however, exuded aggression. Dokic grunted volubly, and the expression on her face was the equivalent of a growl.
But it was a day when the cooler head would prevail. Robson rolled through the first set rather effortlessly, winning in just 23 minutes, 6-1. Her strokes were only slightly less powerful than Dokic’s, but they were precise, crisp and deadly. She capitalized on her opportunities with beautiful winners down the line, rarely making mistakes. Dokic, however, let some chances pass her by. She consistently put the ball in the net when she had her opponent outmaneuvered. Robson took the second set as well, 6-4. She had just four unforced errors to Dokic’s 10.
Robson won the battle of the serve, raining down 11 aces to Dokic's two. And Dokic hurt her cause by tossing in too many double faults. Robson’s consistent serving helped her take five of the final seven games to close out the match.
After the English sensation whacked an ace that would put her into the second round of qualifying, she allowed herself a discreet fist pump and nonchalantly strolled off the court. She posed for pictures with children and signed autographs before kissing her mother and heading for the trainer’s room.
Is Laura Robson maturing before our very eyes? We’ll find out.
Next up for Robson will be Russian Vesna Manasieva, who lost in the first round of the main draw at last year’s Open. Will Robson pull off another upset in Round 2? If she shows even a glimpse of what she did today, it should be smooth sailing into Round 3.