Laura Robson sets up Sharapova showdown

Laura Robson will play Maria Sharapova after shocking Lucie Safarova in the first round of the women’s tennis event at the Olympics.

There was also an excellent win for the new British number one Heather Watson but Elena Baltacha bowed out to the former world number one Ana Ivanovic.

I’m very pleased with that win, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

Heather Watson

Baltacha’s singles career may now be at an end as she said on Saturday that she will have surgery after the Olympics and may not return.

Watson outclassed Spain’s Silvia Soler Espinosa 6-2 6-2 and faces Maria Kirilenko of Russia on Tuesday while Robson knocked out the Czech player Safarova 7-6 6-4.

Sharapova is 7/2 to win the gold medal at London while Ivanovic can be backed at 80/1 and Petra Kvitova at 5/1.

Watson said after her latest success: “I’m very pleased with that win, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I’ve never played her before but I knew she is a great player and wasn’t going to give me any free points. I played well today. I loved the crowd, they were amazing. It’s completely different to Wimbledon, they were a lot louder. I love it, I love loud.

“I’ll do some research on Kirilenko now. I always like to YouTube my opponents and see how they play, how they move. I’ll be prepared.”

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