By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Kristina Mladenovic helped Eugenie Bouchard continue her downward spiral by taking out the Canadian in three sets on Wednesday in Birmingham.
Photo Source: Jan Kruger/Getty
Eugenie Bouchard can’t seem to find a way to win a match. That’s just fine with France’s Kristina Mladenovic, who defeated the Canadian for the second straight time on Wednesday at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
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In addition to continuing Bouchard’s well-publicized downward spiral, Mladenovic’s triumph sets up a third-round encounter with Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. The Frenchwoman has now won four of five on grass this season.
The pair went off with Mladenovic leading 5-3 in the first set thanks to a rain shower, and when they returned Mladenovic, who saved all four break points she faced in the opener, finished off the set.
“It’s always tricky to stop,” said Mladenovic. “Especially when you’re leading, you have this mental thing in your head like ‘Please, don’t turn around the match.’ We stopped at 30-all it’s a tricky situation.”
Despite her struggles, Bouchard played a fantastic second set, winning 16 of 18 first-serve points and not facing a break point, but her momentum quickly faded in the decider. Errors kicked in as Mladenovic’s play steadied, and the fifth seed was only able to manage three of 15 points on serve.
After she fell behind 4-0, Bouchard swatted a ball into the back fence, but it wasn’t enough to jar her back into form. She went meekly, tossing in her sixth double-fault on match point to end the affair in one hour and 39 minutes.
Bouchard has now lost 10 of 11 since Indian Wells, and four in succession.
Mladenovic struck 28 winners against 18 unforced errors on the day, while Bouchard managed 20 winners against 26 unforced.
Since winning a three-setter in Australia vs. Irina-Camelia Begu this winter, Bouchard has now lost her last six deciding sets.