So many talented young British players have come and gone over the past decade or so. Players like Louise Latimer, Julie Pullin and Co. all offered some hope for Britain in their formative years on the court. Even Naomi Cavaday and Elena Baltacha started their senior careers well.

But did we really think these girls could compete against the best? Could we ever see Anne Keothavong defeating Venus Williams, Latimer beating Steffi Graf or Cavaday destroying Lindsay Davenport? No is the answer. We screamed with joy when Cavaday and Keothavong slightly stretched Venus in the first set of each of their matches. How desperate is that?

However, the future is looking a little healthier for British ladies tennis. There are a few youngsters ready or nearly ready to break into the big time, but let's hope they get the training and experienced coaching to enable them to move on from junior success to senior level wins.

Cavaday, at 19, is still young enough to make her presence felt on the WTA tour but she has struggled to move on after breaking into the top 200 last year and needs a boost of confidence if she is going to play regularly in the bigger tournaments. Other girls such as Anna Smith, Amanda Elliott and Kathy Brown all have talent and it is good to see Elliott really showing some great skills during the recent grass court season in England. I think she could well break into the world's top 250 by the end of the year and look to break into the top 150 before her 20th birthday.

My main hope for the future, though, is 14-year-old sensation Laura Robson. She has already reached the finals of two Grade 1 junior events this year and won an invitational event on the grass in Eastbourne a few weeks ago. This week she is competing in junior Wimbledon and has already showed the world she is a fierce competitor and talented player.

In the second round she defeated top seed Melanie Oudin of the USA, a player ranked 272 on the senior tour. Not bad going for a kid of 14! Robson, who was born in Australia, has the looks and determination of a champion. She won her third round tie yesterday to move into the quarter-finals of the junior tournament along with talented team-mate Naomi Broady.

I watched a little of Robson's match and was impressed with the power this girl possesses on the court, serving 11 aces. She has said she will play a few $10,000 and $25,000 tournaments at the end of the year, but being so young she is limited to a strict tournament schedule to avoid the burn-out that happens to many top youngsters. I cannot get over just how good this girl could be by the time she reaches 16 or 17. She could already be well into the top 100 by then and the world will be her oyster.

Finally, Britain has a girl who can play top-class tennis and Andy Murray may have to watch out in the next few years as he could be upstaged for Centre Court adulation by Laura. Let's hope she is trained by the best coaches the LTA has and can be developed into a star.

The new tennis centre in Roehampton is sure to help her gain experience and skills, and Robson really is a name for the future. Murray Mount and Henman Hill could even become Robson Ramp!