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Briton Laura Robson cruised into the final of the junior girls’ singles at Australian Open 2010 on Friday.

On Show Court 3, Robson had an easy victory against a wayward Kristyna Pliskova, 6-3 6-1. In the final, she’ll face sixth seed Karolina Pliskova, Kristyna’s twin sister.

Unseeded Czech Pliskova never had Robson under pressure as her service and groundstrokes were consistently over-hit. There was no sign of fatigue on Robson’s side of the court following her busy schedule this year, one which has included representing Great Britain in the Hopman Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open women’s doubles with Australian Sally Peers.

The two lefties were swinging racquets freely in blustery conditions, but Robson was having more luck keeping the ball in play. Following the match, Robson had a hit-up indoors in a less windy environment to work on her forehand, which she said felt a bit off. “I was just trying to block it back and play smart with the wind, because I knew she was going to make more errors,” she said.
In fact Pliskova, who looked uncomfortable throughout the match, was generating so many unforced errors that it seemed that all Robson had to do was block the ball back to win the match.

At 3-3, Pliskova fired down two double faults and a long forehand. Then at 5-3 down, Pliskova’s serve continued to misfire - another two double-faults gave Robson the set.

The baseline battle continued in the second set, the unseeded British hopeful continuing to strike the ball confidently and seeming more eager to chase the wide balls. Robson’s father, and her sister who resides in Melbourne, were among an appreciative audience. Some dedicated British fans said they had foregone the women’s doubles final being played out in Rod Laver Arena to cheer Robson on.

Robson broke Pliskova’s serve twice more, and held her own comfortably, to win the set 6-1. The unseeded Czech was disappointed with the way she played. “I didn’t play well today – my serve, it started there,” she said.

On her improving form, Robson, the junior girls’ singles runner-up last year, says there are areas where she can improve. “I was really nervous going into that ... Hopefully this year I’ll be more confident going into the match.”

Asked how she was going to prepare for the final, her sense of humour peeked through. “I think we’re going for dinner in St Kilda tonight,” she said.

Karolina Pliskova had a tougher semi-final, beating unseeded Chinese Hao Chen Tang in three sets, 2-6 7-6(8) 6-2. Tang took the first set by converting both her break-point opportunities, while Pliskova won only six points off the Tang serve. Like her sister, Karolina said her game was also plagued by errors. “So many mistakes today from my side,” she said.

In the second set, both girls broke three times as they struggled on serve. Pliskova took an exciting tie-breaker 8-6.

In the final set, Pliskova’s game improved. Tang could win only 55 per cent of points on her first serve, while Pliskova broke Tang twice with resounding winners and served out the match with little fuss. Pliskova was unsure how she turned the game around. “She played the same. Maybe I do not make so much mistakes like at the start,” she shrugged.

Kristyna has told her sister that Robson can be beaten, provided Karolina doesn’t make as many mistakes as she did. “But she [also] has to have a good serve,” Kristyna added.