Laura Robson impresses on WTA Tour debut, despite loss to Iveta Benesova

The umpire lost track of the score in an indoor tennis centre in Luxembourg on Tuesday, by giving Laura Robson a point that wasn't rightly hers, and prompting the opponent to biff her racket on the ground in protest.

But the 14-year-old Londoner was beaten over three sets as she made her first appearance on the main WTA Tour.

Earlier, Robson hadn't needed any help from officialdom in winning the opening set against Iveta Benesova, a 25-year-old ranked 42 in the world. Benesova had only seen Robson's name for the first time when she looked at the draw-sheet, but, in the early stages, the Czech player didn't know quite how to deal with the tennis from the junior Wimbledon champion.

Within 20 minutes, and after dropping just one game, Robson was a set up.

It certainly didn't seem as though Robson was playing someone more than a decade older, and more than 500 places higher than her in the world rankings. Suddenly, Robson was halfway to what would have been quite a tour premiere.

In the gallery above the court, a number of players came out to watch. Robson has certainly provoked a little interest among the other players.

Perhaps in the juniors, Robson would then have cruised to the win, with the opponent fading away. But that is not the way that things work on the main circuit. And Benesova, who reached the third round of this year's French Open, improved her game to register a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.

Towards the close, Robson let out a scream of anguish, but she restrained from throwing or smashing her racket. Robson will stay on in the Grand Duchy, both to play doubles and also to watch how the other players train and prepare for their matches.