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Sharapova advises Robson to stay grounded

Laura Robson started well against Maria Sharapova © Getty Images

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Maria Sharapova has advised Laura Robson not to go chasing the limelight after their thrilling second-round clash at Wimbledon, stating the Brit has 'great potential'.

Sharapova had to dig deeper than she would have liked to defeat the world No. 254 on Friday, trailing 4-1 in the first set before she eventually triumphed 7-6(3) 6-3.

The Russian was Robson's age when she first won Wimbledon, so she knows what it takes to get to the very top of the game. Sharapova admits she saw plenty of quality in the 17-year-old, but she advised her not to overlook bread-and-butter Challenger events in favour of reaching more glamourous second-round encounters on the WTA Tour.

"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.

"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."

Head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, Nigel Sears, concurs with Sharapova, insisting the country cannot afford to heap too much pressure on Robson.

"We need to be patient with Laura because there is a lot of development to do," said Sears, who related Robson's plight to compatriot Elena Baltacha, also beaten in the second round.

"I think the performances themselves were good and we can't complain about either performance," he said.

"I thought Bally at 4-2 with a break in the final set came close to pulling it off. With Laura it was a challenge against Maria and she dealt with it very impressively.

"But at the end of the day it's still two second-round defeats. You don't want to get too carried away."

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