Robson slips to three set defeat in Hopman Cup opener

LAURA Robson slipped to a three set defeat against world number 51 Yaroslava Shvedova in Great Britain's Hopman Cup opener in Perth.

THREE SET LOSS: Laura Robson shows glimpses of brilliance before slipping to a three set to defeat to Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova (Getty Images)

The 15-year old won the first set against her Kazakh opponent but a lack of consistency on serve cost the Brit dearly as she suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 defeat.

Former junior Wimbledon champion Robson impressed in her senior debut at Wimbledon last year as she pushed former world number five Daniela Hantuchova to three sets in the opening round.

And although the Brit rarely threatened on her opponent's serve and threw in too many doubles faults in Perth, Shvedova insisted she expected Robson to become a regular on the senior tour before too long.

"She's a really good player," said Shvedova.

"I really didn't know what to expect because I'd never seen her play before but it's always tough playing against a left-handed player.

"And Laura played really well as well so I'm happy to have come through with a win."

Shvedova looked like she would take the match in straight sets as she raced to a 4-2 lead, having lost only two points in her three service games.

But gutsy Robson fought her way back into the set and rolled off the next four games to claim the first set.

The Brit started the second set strongly but an error-strewn third game saw Shvedova claim an early break with Robson looking increasingly frustrated on court.

Robson recovered quickly but couldn't find a way back into her opponent's service games and relinquished the second set with a second break of serve at 5-3.

The final set raced by as further errors on serve cost Robson and the Brit's resistance ended.

Andy Murray takes on world number 133 Andrey Golubev in the second rubber before teaming up with Robson for the mixed doubles.