Laura Robson Follows Up Win Over Kim Clijsters By Taking Out Li Na In Third Round Of 2012 US Open; Maria Sharapova Keeps Rolling

Laura Robson (click to enlarge)

Barring another comeback down the line, Laura Robson will go down as the answer to the question of who beat Kim Clijsters in her last professional singles match. But don’t look know, Laura is working on being much more than that. Following her defeat of Kimmie, Robson took out the #9 seed Li Na 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-2. While Li Na can be up and down with play, that was not the case in this match. Laura just flat out beat her. Li Na played ok, but was simply not the better woman on this day. And this win, although maybe not as glamorous as beating 4-time Major winner and future Hall of Famer Clijsters, is probably more significant. Li Na had a great summer hard court season, reaching two finals and winning a title. She looked primed for a great US Open run. However, while every Major has a storyline of somebody getting an upset or two but then not amounting to much long term, it feels like we are watching the birth of a future champion in the 18-year old Robson. Who knows? If she keeps playing like this, the future might be now.

Maria Sharapova (click to enlarge)

One player whose time is definitely now is Maria Sharapova. Masha continued to crush her opposition so far at this Major, sending Stanford University student Mallory Burdette back to school with 6-1 6-1 lesson in hard court top-level tennis. However, with all due respect, Masha has yet to face anybody with the weapons to challenge her. Her next match is tricky, against Nadia Petrova. Petrova on a given day can beat anybody, but you never know what Nadia is going to show up. It could easily be another 1 and 1 win for Masha or a 3-set war that either player could win. We will see. Also, for the guys out there, Masha is single again. In the following video she talks about no longer being engaged to Sasha Vujacic.