NINE-TIME Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova insists British teenager Laura Robson will take to senior Wimbledon like a duck to water as she prepares to make her bow this week.

Robson, 15, who has been drawn to face Slovakia’s 2002 SW19 quarter-finalist Daniela Hantuchova, will become the youngest player in the main draw at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis burst on to the scene in 1995.

The Australian-born Brit, currently second in the junior world rankings, lifted the girls’ title at the All England Club last year.

Navratilova won her first Wimbledon crown in 1978 as a 21-year-old, and, while the Czech ace expects a barrage of attention for Robson, she is keeping her fingers crossed the young Brit can keep her feet on the ground.

“She’s got a really nice allround game and she’s got a good group of people around her,” said Navratilova.

“She takes it all in her stride and doesn’t get caught up in the hype. She’ll be fine if she stays on the natural path and doesn’t get distracted by the expectations of the nation.

“It’s just something she has to deal with. The hype usually follows success but here it precedes it.

“It’s hard mentally and you never know how people will cope.”

Earlier this month, Navratilova received the ITF Phillip Chatrier Award for her services to tennis and took the opportunity to speak out against the growing level of grunting in women’s tennis.

The volume has been cranked up a notch after Portuguese 16-year-old Michelle Larcher De Brito announced her arrival at the French Open with her ear-splitting exploits.

Navratilova is adamant the buck must stop with the umpires if the problem is to ever be resolved.

“At the French Open De Brito was noisier than the rest and there are some noisy ones out there,” she added.

“The problem is not really how loud it is but whether it impedes the opponent.

“It should be the umpire doing the job of complaining. If an umpire gave a point penalty, it would stop – but the umpires are weak.”

De Brito has been drawn to face Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.