Samantha Stosur is on high alert after giantkilling British teenager Laura Robson claimed another prized scalp to set up a fourth-round US Open showdown with Australia’s defending champion.
Stosur served up a treat to progress to the last 16, raising her ace tally to a tournament-high 20 in a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 disposal of American 31st seed Varvara Lepchenko.
But the world No.7 will need to step it up another notch against the dangerous and precocious Robson on Sunday.
After snapping three-times champion Kim Clijsters’ 22-match Open winning streak in the previous round to send the Belgian into retirement, Robson backed up to break Li Na’s eight-match unbeaten run with a stylish 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 victory over China’s ninth seed.
“She’s obviously full of confidence and had two very, very good wins. I definitely can’t go into that match lightly,” Stosur said.
“I have to go out there and be on my game and ready to play some good tennis.”
Melbourne-born Robson won the Wimbledon junior title at just 14, but Stosur conceded she’d barely even seen the talented 18-year-old play – apart from when the Brit teamed with Andy Murray to down the Australian and Lleyton Hewitt in the mixed doubles at the London Olympics.
“I have to do some homework and talk to my coach a little bit about that,” the titleholder said.
“For sure it can be a very tricky match. She’s probably got nothing to lose. She’s had two of probably the best wins of her career and she’s starting to maybe live up to some of that potential.
“You’ve got to be aware that. She’s going to come out swinging maybe and have that confidence behind her.
“But you’ve got to stick to your own guns, play the way that you need to play. When it comes down to the crunch, back yourself.”
Robson is certainly backing herself.
“My game is based on being aggressive and, if I don’t play that way, then I probably wouldn’t be doing very well,” she said.
“So I just try to go for all my shots.”
Unlike Stosur, Robson knows enough about the Queenslander’s powerhouse game to at least know what she has coming.
“I don’t think I need to look at any YouTube videos or anything like that,” Robson said.
Stosur practiced with 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova to prepare for the left-handed Lepchenko and said it was a bonus to play a southpaw the match before taking on another in Robson.
“That’s probably a good thing. You never know when you’re going to run into them,” Stosur said after posting her 14th win from her past 15 matches at Flushing Meadows.
“The more times you play against that kind of spin, maybe the easier it gets.”
