In one of the most anticipated first round women’s matches at RG15, Kristina Mladenovic caused another seeded upset as she took out Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets, 6-4 6-4. Mladenovic had been close to the bagel in the second set before Genie mounted a substantial comeback. Originally, I had been very confident that Mladenovic would win although just before the match, I wasn’t so sure! Mladenovic has had some decent results on the clay with a semi-final showing in Marrakech and a final appearance in Strasbourg so the win didn’t come as a huge surprise considering Genie’s recent form. However, Genie has performed so well over the past year at the Slams. This is proving to be a tough year for the Canadian player and although I expect her to rediscover her game at some point, I doubt it will be this year.
Mladenovic takes on Danka Kovinic in what should be a very interesting second round match, which is last up on Chatrier. Kovinic has been performing well since Charleston where she reached the quarter-finals. Since that breakthrough event on the WTA tour, she reached the quarters of WTA Prague and then won an ITF title in Trnava. It wasn’t until Charleston when I got to watch a few of her matches and I was impressed. Her biggest strength appears to be the serve, which is backed up by some very solid groundstrokes. Kovinic also has a great attitude on court and is one of many talented players slowly beginning to make the mark on the circuit. Kovinic won her first Grand Slam main draw match on Tuesday, beating Klara Koukalova in the first round, 6-3 7-6(4).
This will be a first career match-up between the pair. In front of the home crowd and with more experience at this stage of a Grand Slam, i’d give the edge to Mladenovic in three sets.
Prediction: Mladenovic d. Kovinic in 3 sets
WTA French Open R2 Predictions
Serena Williams d. Anna-Lena Friedsam in 2 sets
Victoria Azarenka d. Lucie Hradecka in 2 tight sets
Denisa Allertova d. Tsvetana Pironkova in 3 sets
Sloane Stephens d. Heather Watson in 2 tight sets
Andrea Petkovic d. Lourdes Dominguez Lino in 2 tight sets
Sara Errani d. Carina Witthoeft in 2 sets
Irina Falconi d. Sesil Karatantcheva in 3 sets
Caroline Wozniacki d. Julia Goerges in 2 tight sets
Petra Kvitova d. Silvia Soler-Espinosa in 2 sets
Irina-Camelia Begu d. Ana Konjuh in 2 tight sets
Timea Bacsinszky d. Tereza Smitkova in 2 sets
Karolina Pliskova d. Andreea Mitu in 2 sets
Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Francesca Schiavone in 2 sets
Zarina Diyas d. Alison Van Uytvanck in 3 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
You have Sloane over Heather?
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Yup. I’m aware of the head to head. I’m aware I might look stupid. But I’m going Sloane!
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I just think Watson is a bad matchup for Stephens. Having said that she played almost flawlessly against Venus so could definitely pull it off.
I hope Watson comes through, though. A good run in a Slam would do her the world of good.
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I hope Heather comes through too particularly with what will be a winnable R3 match. No doubt that this is a great opportunity for her.
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I’d also like to see Watson play Serena because I saw her commenting on a Serena match once and I found it hilarious she was basically giving Serena advice and pointing out what she was doing wrong (LOL) Navratilova style.
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Mladenovic v. Kovinic –> 50/50 match. It can go either way.
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Yes it is and I think kovinic has the edge…Mladenovic seems overwhelmed by her victory
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Agreed.
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Also I’m going to be brave and say Hradecka beats Azarenka today… she’s been playing like a top ten player for the last few months. Her service has been all or nothing though and that’ll be key.
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no chance -Azarenka in 2
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May I remind you that Hradecka took Azarenka to 3 sets a few weeks ago in Rome.
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Oh and a quick told-you-so to whoever it was that said Goerges wasn’t going to pose any threat to Wozniacki as shes “not a very good player”
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Hahaha I remember reading that! They had Woz as their RG winner, saying her path was ‘easy’. Wouldn’t call a second round encounter with someone who has peaked on clay in the past (ie Goerges and Stuttgart) an easy match.
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Oh dear James, how off were your predictions about the Romanian girls today! Irina Begu won it in 2, but definitely not tight and Andreea Mitu made a brilliant couple of come-back sets against the ace-serving machine Karolina Pliskova. But hey, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I knew Andreea Mitu plays beautiful tennis, but I wasn’t expecting her to explode like that. What a wonderful surprise after yesterday’s sorrow! I hope someone will look to invest a bit in Andreea as she has a looooot of potential and a really clean, sharp looking game.
Petra needs to up her game from her first 2 rounds for the game with Irina. She felt shaky in both matches and Irina is riding a confidence wave. Hopefully, they’l both play great tennis and we’ll have a good match to watch.
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I had Begu in 2, I think that’s decent enough! I didn’t see Mitu’s win coming as Pliskova has been so consistent this year and even won a clay court tournament in Prague. Huge, open section that Mitu is now in…
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Kvitova must be thrilled that the two biggest threats in her quarter are both gone! Could be another semi final here for her if she can get it together.
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