Kristina Mladenovic earned a big win on a large center stage for her career at the BNP Paribas Open. The 23 year old held in tight and played till it became too much for Caroline Wozniacki winning 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 on Stadium One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The match came down to who broke first under the 90 degree heat playing over two and half hours.
The Dane won the last three matches against French star who showed every attempt to outduel her Danish rival. Their meeting in Hong Kong last season went to three sets with Mladenovic putting all her fight into the second set only to run out of gas. So far in the tournament she has been a force beating the likes of Annika Beck, Simona Halep, and most recently Lauren Davis all within straight sets. Wozniacki pulled off the same results including a strong win over Madison Keys late Tuesday night. Her endurance to start the morning off right would be put to the test by the world number 26.
The first game went to deuce where the former number one saved the break to hold serve. Mladenovic coasted to victory on her service game that set the pace for both sides of her push to win. She pressed Wozniacki in the third but the defense of the Dane countered with a smash winner before landing a long forehand winner. A bad serve from the French player allowed Wozniacki a clean sweep on the break to widen the gap early in the set. She remained focused and had the consistency that led her to a comeback in the fifth.
The former number one forced deuce but found it difficult securing the game point. She went through four breaks and seven minutes of game play with Mladenovic before taking a 4-1 rout. In search for her second service hold, Mladenovic struggled to beat Wozniacki on the forehand returns in rallies. They went to deuce where it was again Wozniacki winning due to another unforced error by the 28th seed.
Her final chance in the set to make something happen was on the break where she forced a draw with Wozniacki putting in the fight to gain the advantage. She capped a second win after winning on a net front rally that ended on a well-placed shot across court. Another win began building confidence in Mladenovic but not enough to downgrade the skills of the 13th seed who served for the set landing a hard-forehand winner ending 46 minutes of play.
The 28th seed knew that improvements had to come in the second set in order to show a stronger fight for control. Mladenovic came out with her first serve taking care of business to play evenly. Her second serve came together just enough that let her keep the lead through five games where she recorded her first love service.
The sweep in the previous game took its toll on Wozniacki who missed opportunities to keep on pace to lose a second straight giving Mladenovic a two-game margin. In order to stay within reach, Wozniacki pulled off an important break of her opponent to reset going forward. A talk with her coach and father Piotr Wozniacki allowed her to focus on leveling back and take back the leverage.
Mladenovic didn’t let her off easy and attacked the forehand showing plenty of variety on the returns coming out with a fifth win to serve for a deciding set. The nerves got to her committing two double faults that handed Wozniacki the win with a forehand error. The chance for the Dane to push the set forward was in the tenth where having the ball a way to secure a win. Mladenovic attempted to go for a third break but watched as Wozniacki rushed to a love service pressing the set onward.
The Frenchwoman had the hard time of serving with the sun directly on her but played her best against Wozniacki. She forced the Dane to run for balls making pop fly returns that allowed the 23-year-old to land the smash returns. She clearly earned the love service for a 6-5 lead with the notion of not wanting to go to a tiebreaker. Wozniacki pulled her skills together making that a reality but knew that going into the tiebreak meant very little to dwindle down her adversary.
The 28th seed racked up the winners to push away from a three all tie and had her chance to win by set points. She won 7-4 with a blown return landing wide to send the ladies into a deciding third set.
The play between the two stars did not dissipate as they fought tooth and nail to hold their service against one another. Things remained even through four even while the Dane used her medical timeout to change a taping that was on her right foot. The adjustment seemed to work for her but the gameplay was dead even as the fifth went into deuce. It was no easy task for either of them but in the end the Frenchwoman came out on top with the break showing her urge to lead.
After six, it was hers as she dictated on serve once again giving her a pair of games on the former number one inching closer to what could become an upset. She gained her fifth ending things on a great smash that knocked down Wozniacki to the point where she had to face the French star on serve for the match.
Taking it one points at a time, the 28th seed put all the heat on her stronger opponent who seemed to have issues with her ankle. The struggle to keep a good run on rallies led Mladenovic to reach two match points winning the 2 hour and 33-minute bout with a ball landing long of the baseline.
“Obviously, it feels great,” Mladenovic said to ESPN’s Pam Shriver after the match. “I never beat Caroline because she’s such a great fighter and it’s tough to make a winner against her. I’m just glad to be in the semifinal here.” She’ll await the winner between American Venus Williams and Elena Vesnina of Russia to determine how the Frenchwoman will prepare for the next stage of the tournament.
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