MELBOURNE, Australia -- For the first time since the horrific mass shooting at a music concert in Las Vegas last October, Britain's Laura Robson spoke of the effect it has had on her life.
Robson and her friends were among a crowd of 22,000 people attending the Route 91 Harvest Music when the shooting began. On Wednesday, after losing her first-round doubles match at the Australian Open, she told the media how shaken up she was but how lucky she felt to escape an attack that left 58 people dead and 546 injured.
"[After the concert], I was meant to go home for a while, anyway, which was probably really a good thing, because I just spent five days in the house without really leaving," the 23-year-old Robson said. "It was a crazy, crazy thing to happen, and I got really, really lucky. My friends got really, really lucky. That's all I can say. I don't like to think about it."
Robson said she had not really felt in immediate danger because she was far away from the area targeted by the gunman.
"We were really, really lucky in that we were off to the side, so you hear everything and stuff like that, but we were on the way out anyway. So many people weren't lucky," she said. "I just got a big hug from my mum when she picked me from the airport the next day."
Robson said she had initially believed the noise was something coming from the stage.
"My friend, one of the girls I was with, she is from North Carolina, so she was the first one to be like, 'Hang on here, that is definitely bullets'."
Understandably reluctant to discuss too many details of the day, Robson said the incident has made her appreciate life that little bit more.
"It was sweet really because when I got home, my dogs could sense that I was a bit off so they just sat on me for five days," Robson said. "After that, you have to get back to real life and back on the court. [I'm] definitely a bit more thankful."
Robson's Australian Open outing was short-lived, as she and American CoCo Vandeweghe were beaten 7-6 (3), 6-4 by Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Katerina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the first round of doubles.
Nevertheless, Robson, who was ranked inside the top 30 in 2013 until a bout with wrist injuries, said she felt rejuvenated on the court after teaming up again with her former coach, Martijn Bok.
"I actually feel good," said Robson, whose ranking of 223 meant she narrowly missed out on a place in the singles qualifying draw. "I feel very happy on court for the first time in a long time. I'm happy to be back with Martijn. We're putting in some good work on the practice court. I feel very happy and super motivated.
"I felt like I was stuck in this spot where I wasn't getting any better. I couldn't pinpoint what I was doing wrong, and why I felt so bad on court, why I was so unhappy in practice and in matches. It was getting a bit overwhelming."
Robson, who will stay in Australia to play four ITF events in the coming weeks, said she hopes to regain her place in the world's top 100 by the end of the year.