Robson wins for Britain

Published: Saturday, 5 July 2008, 6:44PM

Britain's Laura Robson has won the Wimbledon girls' singles title by beating Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1 and is now gunning for Venus Williams' ladies crown.

A packed Court One saw the unseeded 14-year-old become the youngest winner of the title since Martina Hingis in 1994 - the year Robson was born.

Lertcheewakarn, who was seeded third, struggled to contain Robson's aggressive style in a one-sided opening set, but she capitalised when the south Londoner inexplicably fell apart in the second.

Robson, who revealed that she had to overcome butterflies before the match got underway suffered a recurrence during the second set when her authority suddenly deserted her.

But by the third Robson had recovered her composure to become the first British winner of the girls' title since Annabel Croft in 1984.

She will now be eligible for a wild card to the women's draw at SW19 next year.

When asked how she would get on against women's champion Venus Williams - who beat her sister Serena in straight sets on Centre Court, Robson replied: "I'd take her down!"

She said: "Being Wimbledon girls' champion sounds really good. It was great today because the crowd were behind me and it was such an experience."

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