Robson closer to Wimbledon dream

Laura Robson has moved a step closer to her "biggest dream" as she secured herself a place in the final 16 at this year's Wimbledon tennis championships.

The teenager battled through to the fourth round following a tense match on Court Two - a lawn once dubbed the "graveyard of champions".

Her win, over New Zealand's Marina Erakovic, was met with a standing ovation from an evidently partisan crowd.

It is the first time a British woman has got through to the second week of the grand slam since 1998.

Robson, 19, appeared troubled at times during the tie and, on one occasion, threw her towel onto a chair in apparent frustration after losing a point.

But she eventually triumphed 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and appeared to mouth "yes" in evident delight before waving to the crowd with a broad smile on her face.

Robson said the backing of the crowd on Court Two and the chants of "Come on, Laura!" from spectators helped her claw back the dramatic match after a difficult start.

She said: "They were amazing. Honestly, it was totally amazing out there today and I'm so, so happy to be through, but I definitely couldn't have done it without them."

The teenager got off to a bad start and success looked distinctly unlikely at the start of the contest, which lasted one hour and 55 minutes.

"I was getting my butt kicked basically," she said. "I was really struggling to return her serve, she was playing really well so I just thought I would try as best as I can, work as hard as possible and just stick with it until she starts to get nervous - which is what happened."