Katie Swan, from Bristol via Wichita, Kansas, took her first steps down the yellow brick road of tennis here on Saturday.
But for a leg injury that checked her fightback in the second set, the best British prospect since Laura Robson might have pushed the willowy Slovakian Tereza Mihalikova far harder down the stretch in the junior final of the Australian Open.
As it was, Mihalikova, eight months older and three inches taller than the 15-year-old Swan, had to fight hard to win 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and half.
“I started to feel my groin in the middle of the first set, and then it got worse and worse,” she said. “It’s unfortunate but not much I can do about it. I didn’t have much time to recover from yesterday, so that’s part of it.”
What Katie did in front of a smattering enthusiasts on the big, blue centre stage of Rod Laver Arena was show a lot of composure to stay in the match after taking a medical timeout when 3-0 up and on fire in the second set.
Pretty much confined to the baseline thereafter, she did not give it away, hitting hard, angled ground strokes when she could reach the ball on her one good leg, and forced her opponent to deuce in the deciding game.
“I was pleased with the way I fought and saved two match points,” she said.
It was her second impressive comeback in two days, having overcome cramp to recover from 0-6, 2-4 down and save two match points in the second, going on to win the third 7-5 and clinch the semi-final against Dalma Galfi on Friday. She’d already put out the tournament’s No1 seed, Xu Shilin of China, 6-2, 6-2 in stiff wind the day before that.
Swan, inevitably, will be compared to Robson, who was 14 when she won the girls’ title at Wimbledon seven years ago. The Australian-born Londoner raised expectations that have yet to be properly fulfilled and returns in a couple of minor events in the United States next month after a year out with a wrist injury.
“Laura tweeted me, which made me feel real good,” Swan said. “I haven’t talked to her much before, but I’ve seen her around a lot at the National Tennis Centre.”
Although proud of her compatriot’s achievements, Swan – not a plastic Brit but the daughter of a businessman who moved to America when he changed jobs two years ago – looks for inspiration to the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who went out in the quarter-finals to Maria Sharapova.
Slight of build but strong of character, Swan showed craft and resilience to overcome a tough start against Mihalikova, who earlier had put out the No2 seed, Jil Belen Teichmann, of Switzerland.
“It’s been amazing, obviously the best tournament I’ve ever played,” Swan said. “I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been playing this week. I hope that there are a lot more tournaments like this for me. I’m going home after this for a training block. In March, I’m looking to do some pro 10Ks, 15Ks [probably in the United States]. I definitely will play the big tournaments this year. I’ll play all the [junior] grand slams as long as I’m not injured. I’m still going to keep my options open for college.”
Judy Murray, who takes Great Britain’s best available women to Budapest on Wednesday for next week’s Federation Cup qualifiers in Budapest, is a big fan. She said before leaving Melbourne that Swan is at the head of the next generation of British women, in an admittedly thin field.
