When a reigning Grand Slam champion sees off the world No.283 in a first-round match for the loss of just four games, you might think those details alone would suffice – what else is there to say?
But on the opening day of Wimbledon 2016, the champion in question was Angelique Kerber, whose year has been something of a downward-centric rollercoaster since she defeated Serena Williams to take the Australian Open crown; and the world No.283 was Britain’s Laura Robson, still recovering from the career-threatening left wrist injury which has wrecked her game since January 2014.
For the German No.4 seed, this match was exactly the kind of confidence-boosting platform she needs to get her consistency back on track, even though it was against a fellow left-hander.
But for Robson – who was ranked as high as 27 in the world after reaching the last 16 here in 2013 – this was an unhappy 69 minutes. Playing in 2016 as a wild card, she showed glimpses of her old firepower and weaponry, but it is clear the road back is still dauntingly long.
From 2-1 on serve in the first set, a disastrous error count saw her lose seven successive games. After that she could make no significant impact before Kerber took the win 6-2, 6-2 on her first match point.
“It’s always tough to play against her because she is also a lefty,” said Kerber. “It’s always nice to play on a big stage, and I like this tournament so much. I have great memories from here. I’m happy to get this first round win – after my first round loss in Paris, it’s great to start the tournament like this.”
This match took place on No.1 Court, the scene of Robson’s triumph eight years ago to win the junior title here. Victory was an impossible prospect in this first round. True, she matched Kerber winner-for-winner, each with a count of 15; the problem was the Briton’s error output, which eventually reached 32 by comparison with her opponent’s meagre seven.
The Robson of three years ago would have relished the chance to tackle Kerber in this first round, of course – buoyed, no doubt, by the fact that she had already notched up a shock win over the German here back in 2011 when she was just 17.
But these days, for now at least, realistic winning ambitions against such an opponent are currently beyond the 22-year-old Briton. Her frustration at the loss of her powers was occasionally – understandably – audible.
“I seem quite down?” she repeated back to an inquisitor in her post-match press conference. “Probably because I lost. It tends to do that. Could have served better. Could have returned better. Hopefully this time next year I’ll be in a much better position.
“For me, it's really almost a new career. I'm not going to keep looking back at what I did when I was 14 and what I did a couple years ago. I am where I am. I need to work on improving that and not just looking in the past. It can change pretty quickly – Jo Konta took a wild card here last year, and now she’s in the top 20.”
Kerber, meanwhile, had a thoroughly enjoyable day, which has been something of a rarity since her wondrous victory over Williams in the Melbourne decider, days after she turned 28. For as much as players dream of winning a Grand Slam, it is with little thought for competitive life after such a victory.
In Kerber’s case that has meant horribly chequered form and fitness. If she can match her No.4 seeding here by reaching the semi-finals, her tournament will have exceeded many observers’ expectations – although, that said, there is a distant mathematical possibility that she could emerge from The Championships as the world No.1.
Since lifting the Australian title, she has defended her title in Stuttgart, but that was bookended by a whole clutch of defeats at the first hurdle (in Miami, Charleston, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros), not to mention a shoulder problem which prevented her playing in front of her home crowd in Nuremberg.
Matters picked up a little on the Birmingham grass – she could not defend her title, but reaching the quarters was a boost. Facing a struggling opponent here was a good opportunity for her, and she made the best of it.
Just a month ago, she was in much the same position at the start of Roland-Garros, where she arrived at her first Grand Slam since becoming a Slam champion herself. She made all the right upbeat noises in her pre-tournament press conference there, and was wiped out by eventual semi-finalist Kiki Bertens in the first round.
Here, her pre-tournament press conference sounded eerily similar – but the result was as different as could be.