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By Chris Oddo | Wednesday June 8, 2016

 
Mladenovic

Kristina Mladenovic and CoCo Vandeweghe each advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rico Open on Wednesday

Photo credit: Ricoh Open

The quick transition from clay to grass has not proven to be too difficult for two players who have always embraced the grass.

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France’s Kristina Mladenovic and U.S.A’s CoCo Vandeweghe each booked safe passage into the last eight at the Ricoh Open on Wednesday.

Mladenovic needed three sets to get by Russian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The Frenchwoman said she considered pulling out of the draw because she didn’t finish at Roland Garros until Sunday, where she took the doubles title with Caroline Garcia. But after some consideration Mladenovic elected to take her spot in the main draw.

The No. 3 seed also reached the quarterfinals last year at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. She improves to 10-3 on grass since the start of 2015 with the win. "I have to be honest, I'm a bit surprised to be in the quarterfinals here," Mladenovic admitted, according to WTATennis.com. "But I love the tournament, grass is one of my favorite surfaces.”

Vandeweghe, also a capable grass courter who has gone 10-4 since the beginning of 2015 on the grass, marched into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Japan’s Nao Hibino.

The 24-year-old, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2015, broke Hibino’s serve seven times on 14 break opportunities to set up a quarterfinal with the winner of tomorrow’s match between No.2-seeded Jelena Jankovic and Evgeniya Rodina.

Others to reach the quarterfinals on Wednesday in Den Bosch were American Madison Brengle, who downed Richel Hogenkamp, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5, and Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens, who backed up her first-round upset of Eugenie Bouchard with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Aleksandra Krunic.


 

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