Kristina Mladenovic suffered a fifth defeat in a row on Tuesday for her entry into the competition in Lausanne. Things are not getting better for the 116th player in the world… On the other hand, Caroline Garcia, seeded n°6 in Switzerland, crossed the first round.
Victorious in Bad Homburg then eighth finalist at Wimbledon, Caroline Garcia had an excellent season on grass, and she will now try to take advantage of her good form to shine on the clay courts of Lausanne. And it went well for the entry into the running of the Lyonnaise, seeded No. 6 in Switzerland. Opposed to the Italian Jasmine Paolini, 64th in the world, the 48th won 6-3, 6-3 in 1h17, after a very solid match. Garcia, author of 5 aces and 60% of first serves, saved the six break points that her opponent got (including five in the first set), and took her serve at 1-0 in the first set and at 3-3 and 5-3 in the second to win. In the next round, she will face her compatriot Léolia Jeanjean or Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria.
Mladenovic can’t do it
His victory in doubles at Roland-Garros with Caroline Garcia then in singles at the W60 in Caserta in the space of a week, was only a short respite in a difficult season. Since then, the now world 116th Kristina Mladenovic has had a series of disappointments, and after Ilkley, Eastbourne, Wimbledon and Contrexéville, it was in Lausanne that the Frenchwoman lost in the first round. Opposed to the Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa, 126th in the world, “Kiki” lost after 2 hours of play with the score of 6-4, 7-6. Once again, she suffered enormously on serve, with 9 double faults committed and 6 breaks conceded. Her opponent was no better in this area (4 double faults, 5 breaks conceded), but she knew how to be effective when necessary, with in particular a first set won thanks to a white break at 5-4, a break in the second while Mladenovic led 5-4, and a tie-break won 7-3 without trembling. In the next round, Bucsa will face No. 1 seed Danielle Collins or Switzerland’s Simona Waltert.
One seed less
Also note at the start of the day the qualification of the seeded n°3 Irina Begu, who disposed of Tamara Korptatsch 6-4, 6-2 in 1h40 in a match marked by nine breaks, where she finished strong winning the last four games. However, it’s over for the No. 8 seed, the Russian Varvara Gracheva, who fell to the German qualifier Eva Lys, who won 7-5, 6-4 in 1h40.after being down 5-3 in the first set.
