Laura Robson is ready to put in the hard yards away from the glamour of the senior women's tour to ensure she can enjoy more days in the Wimbledon spotlight.
The British teenager won the first grand slam match of her career in the opening round and yesterday gave Maria Sharapova, the fifth seed and title favourite, a real scare before going down 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.
Sharapova hailed Robson's ‘‘great potential'' but urged her to remain patient and go back to the second-tier ITF circuit to build a bank of experience.
Robson, the world number 254, admitted that will be hard to do after receiving a standing ovation from a partisan crowd on Court One - but she knows it is a necessity.
"I think it's really easy to play well on a day like this where you've got a big stage, you're playing against a top-10 player, especially someone like Maria," said Robson.
"It's going to be hard going back to the lower tournaments but it's something that you've got to do to earn the right to play on such a big court again."
This was the third time Robson had featured in the main draw as a Wimbledon wild card since she won the junior title as a 14-year-old in 2008.
After gallant first-round defeats in 2009 and 2010 she won her first grand slam match on Wednesday, beating Angelique Kerber in three sets.
This time she made the perfect start against Sharapova and raced into a 4-1 lead before the Russian fifth seed broke back and took the set into a tie-break.
Sharapova had to come from a mini-break down to claim the opening set and then stepped it up a gear in the second.
The 2004 Wimbledon champion opened a 5-1 lead and although Robson battled to the end, Sharapova sealed the win and a third-round meeting with Klara Zakopalova.
Asked what her over-riding emotion was after such a gutsy performance, Robson said: ‘‘I'm definitely really, really disappointed. I even thought I could have played better at some points, especially the big points.
"I think that's where her experience definitely showed. Every time she sort of stepped up a little bit.
"I wasn't surprised to be 4-1 up because I was playing really well.
"She's known for being one of the best fighters on tour. She never ever gives in.
"It's good to know that I can definitely play sort of just as well as the top girls."
Sharapova was just 17 - the same age Robson is now - when she won the Wimbledon title in 2004 but she urged the Brit to remain patient.
"She has great potential," said Sharapova.
"She's got to keep learning and keep playing and keep working hard. I think for everyone it's a really long road.
"It's great and it's important to play in front of thousands of people with the support of the British crowd.
"I also feel as you develop your game it's just as important to play the lower tournaments, when you are in the middle of nowhere and there's a small number of people watching.
"You're in the third set and you have to win those matches. That ultimately leads to experience.
"You learn a lot from those matches.
"She'll get that experience behind her back and she'll be a better player."
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