Laura Robson knocked out of Wimbledon by Kaia Kanepi
- Published
Britain's Laura Robson was beaten by Kaia Kanepi in the fourth round at Wimbledon, going down to the Estonian 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 on Court One.
Robson was bidding to become the first British woman to reach the quarter-finals at SW19 since Jo Durie in 1984.
However, Robson lost the first-set tie-break having been 5-2 ahead and was broken at 5-5 in the second.
Robson, 19, saved four match points as her rival started to creak on serve but Kanepi converted the fifth.
"I'm really, really disappointed," said Robson. "I thought she played a really solid match. She can hit the ball incredibly hard off the ground, so it was tough for me to stay in the rallies.
"But I had my chances here and there and I just didn't take them."
Robson was the first British woman to make the second week at Wimbledon since Sam Smith in 1998.
But the world number 38 showed few signs of nerves early on, opening up with a love service game and forcing a break point with the score at 1-1, which Kanepi saved.
Robson carved out three more break points at 4-4 and converted the second courtesy of a searing forehand winner.
However, with Robson serving for the first set the nerves set in. Her serve having been solid up until then, she opened up the game with a first double fault before handing Kanepi the break with an errant forehand.
Robson, ranked eight places higher than her opponent, raced into a 5-2 lead in the subsequent tie-break only to tighten up again.
She framed a second serve into the bottom of the net to make the score 5-5 and, while she managed to find a huge forehand return to save one set point, Kanepi sealed the set in 49 minutes when Robson missed with an attempted pass.
The Court One crowd struggled to conceal its disappointment but Robson settled early in the second set, winning her first two service games comfortably.
However, Kanepi, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, was also serving well and doing a good job of moving Robson around the court.
With the score locked at 3-3 in the second set Robson showed some grit, pulling out two aces to save two break points.
But Kanepi carved out three break points at 5-5 and only needed one of them, Robson netting with a return.
Robson dug in again to save two match points before Kanepi started to creak, sending down a double fault as Robson saved again.
Robson saved a fourth match point but Kanepi finally sealed her place in the last eight with a forehand winner.
The youngster, who left the court without offering a wave to the crowds, said she felt unable to do so, adding: "I was just trying not to cry."
Kanepi will face Sabine Lisicki on Tuesday after the German caused a major upset by beating defending champion Serena Williams.
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