HOP Cup: Winning Start
Monday, January 4, 2010
Photograph by Getty Images
Andy and Laura Robson are off to a winning start at the Hopman Cup after beating Kazakhstan 2-1 in their opening tie of the tournament.
And if their on-court interview afterwards is anything to go by, they could prove pretty popular this week in Perth.
Following Laura’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 defeat to Yaroslava Shvedova, Andy made light work of Andrey Golubev, 6-2 6-2 to set up a decisive mixed doubles rubber.
That match went right to the wire, but Great Britain closed it out 12-10 in the match tie-break.
Credit goes to Laura for holding her nerve at the end; it was a Golubev error off her second serve that converted a second match point and gave Great Britain their winning start.
Sadly, that didn’t prevent her getting her first taste of public humiliation from Andy, who blamed the knife-edge finish on his partner.
“She started asking me if I moisturized my hands,” said Andy.
“I think maybe she lost her concentration a little bit, but she’s only 15 so I’ll let her off.”
Amid a cackling crowd, Andy’s partner copped it again.
“I’m just stiff. She hit me on my back with her racquet. I don’t think I deserved that. I was sore already from carrying her.”
The spectators loved it, and they’ll get the chance to see Andy and Laura again on Wednesday when they face Germany.
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