Last year, Kristina Mladenovic left Melbourne in the best possible way: with a trophy in her suitcases, won in mixed doubles with the Croatian Ivan Dodig. This year, the Frenchwoman arrives to play the first Grand Slam of the season without having played a tournament before: “It was difficult to get on the pitch today without a warm-up match, but I’m happy with the outcome of the match”she said after her victory. “I started pretty well, leading 5-0 in the first set, I think I got into the game well tactically and I immediately disturbed her with my game plan, my variations”she analyzed.
Despite a solid start, Mladenovic suffered a drop in the second set: “She started to understand my strategy a bit and she adapted. Tennis is a bit of a game of cat and mouse: you bring a game plan and the opponent responds more or less well..
“It was a nice challenge for a first single this season”
But “Kiki” Mladenovic took advantage of his opponent’s inaccuracies to gain the upper hand: with 43 unforced errors, including 22 on the forehand, Maddison Inglis let the game slip away. However, it could have been folded much earlier if Mladenovic had converted more break points (31% success in this sector). But as she says herself, it’s never easy to play the Australians at home: “Maddison Inglis is a very good player, I remember watching her last year, she reached the third round of the final draw. It was a nice challenge for a first single for me this season. »
His goal in Melbourne: to go as far as possible! “Ideally, of course, I would like to pass the qualifications. It would be a nice start. But, it’s my very first tournament of the year, so it’s a bit difficult to have specific expectations. My goal is really to try to build day after day to gradually find the tennis that I want to produce. » And if the Frenchwoman has already won the Australian Open in doubles (in 2018 and in 2020 with Timea Babos), and in mixed doubles (in 2014 with Daniel Nestor and in 2022 with Ivan Dodig), she does not has yet to advance past the third round of the singles competition.
