? Laura Robson was 'impressive' against Maria Sharapova
? I am encouraged, says head of women's tennis
The head of the women's game in Britain has cautioned against getting carried away with the improved performances of Laura Robson and other British players at Wimbledon but said he is convinced their upward trajectory would continue.
Nigel Sears, head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, said that just as last year's dismal performance ? when every British female crashed out in the first round ? was not a true representation of the health of the sport, there is a risk of getting carried away with their best since 2004.
"I don't want to go overboard. We're still talking about second-round defeats. The girls are definitely getting better. They are making progress and the rankings reflect that. But it is little steps," said Sears. "If we are judging things on tour standards, we shouldn't be getting too excited about second-round defeats ? even if the performances themselves were good ones."
Robson went close to going a set up against the No5 seed, Maria Sharapova, and the British No1, Elena Baltacha, was a break up in the deciding set against Peng Shuai before going out. Anne Keothavong also reached the second round and Heather Watson, who recently broke into the top 100, was close to doing so.
"I'm definitely encouraged with the progress the girls have made," said Sears. "Last year wasn't a true reflection of their level, they'd had a much better year than the results suggested. If you assess everything over a 12-month period, we have been moving in the right direction.
"Five different girls have broken the top 100 in the last four years, two have made top 50 and we've had two junior grand slam champions. I do think the general results are getting better. The rankings tell the truth, they don't lie. So they are making progress."
He hopes that the emergence of Robson and Watson will help push the older British players harder, and vice versa. Baltacha, 27, said after her defeat that she felt she is playing her best ever tennis and could improve further.
"It works both ways," said Sears. "They set benchmarks for Heather and Laura. It won't do them any harm to be chased now by the young ones. And hopefully we'll see some more young ones coming behind Heather and Laura very shortly."
Of the 17-year-old Robson, he said she now needs to show similar aggression against all opponents, after taking a set from Sharapova.
"She gave a very good account of herself in the first set and showed what she can do on grass. To watch her out-trade Sharapova, at least on some points, was very exciting. She looks so impressive when she takes the ball on like that and it has to become her trademark." He also praised Baltacha's "magnificent" first set against Peng and her "intensity".
Roger Draper, the LTA chief executive, under pressure over the lack of progress in the elite men's game in particular, has argued that the �58m it puts into the sport every year will start to bear fruit in years to come.
Sears also said the results of an overhaul of the performance system are starting to show in the women's game and would begin to translate to the men's game. "It doesn't matter whether you're talking about the men's game or the women's game," said Sears. "The key to success is setting high standards on a day-to-day basis.
"There's no question that work is being done now and the players in the men's and the women's are getting the right information and the right level of opportunity. The results of that are now being seen in the junior game on the men's side. If there's a consistent approach across the board, good things will happen."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/26/british-women-tennis-lta
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