Robson out of Barnstaple tennis tournament singles

FANS favourite and former junior Wimbledon winner Laura Robson admitted she could not cope with Naomi Cavaday s power after crashing out in the first round of the AEGON Pro-Series at the Tarka Tennis Centre in Barnstaple. As the main draw got into full

FANS' favourite and former junior Wimbledon winner Laura Robson admitted she could not cope with Naomi Cavaday's power after crashing out in the first round of the AEGON Pro-Series at the Tarka Tennis Centre in Barnstaple.

As the main draw got into full swing yesterday (Wednesday) Robson put up a great fight against her higher-ranked and more experienced opponent before succumbing 6-4, 7-6, but she said she had learned a lot from the encounter.

Robson said: "She hits it really hard and it's quite an awkward shot to return because I'm not used to playing left handers. It spins away and I get jammed up sometimes, so it's difficult to play her. I thought my performance was good. It could have been better on how many mistakes I made and how many first serves I made, but I thought it was a solid match and I thought she played really well."

Cavaday said she was relieved to see off the challenge of Robson, but admitted she would have to play better if she is to enjoy a successful week in North Devon.

She said: "I was nervous before the match but that wasn't because she was young or British, it was because she is a tough player. She is up and coming, very young and very good for her age, so it's a little strange to be playing in my home country and having the crowd cheering for my opponent, but you get used to it and I think I won them over in the end."

The world No.230 plays top seed Ksenia Pervak in the second round.

US Open junior champion Heather Watson hailed her 7-6, 6-2 victory over second seed Melanie South as the biggest of her career to date.

Watson took a tight first set on the tie-break before running away with the second set, although South appeared to be struggling with a back injury by that point.

She said: "I am really happy with that. I played well. Mel hits it really hard, so it was hard to be on the offensive, my game was more about defence. After winning the girls' US Open it's nice to make the transition over to the women's and get some wins here as well."

Watson will now face junior world No.2 Kristina Mladenovic in the second round. The Brit will be familiar with her opponent, having faced her a number of times on the junior circuit.

Wednesday results: Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) [4] beat Anna Smith (GBR) 6-2 6-3; Naomi Cavaday (GBR) beat Laura Robson (GBR) 6-4 7-6 (2); Stephanie Gehrlein (GER) beat Nicola George (GBR) 6-2 6-1; Ksenia Pervak (RUS) [1] beat Yulia Fedossova (FRA) 6-0 7-5; Pauline Parmentier (FRA) [3] beat Helen Parish (GBR) 6-1 6-0; Emma Laine (FIN) beat Klaudia Boczova (SVK) 6-2 6-0.