It was a case of what could have been for Simona Halep as she crashed out 6-3, 6-3, to France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the third round at Indian Wells.
Separated by 22 places in the WTA rankings, statistics suggested that the Romanian was the outright favourite in the match. But in reality it was world No.26 Mladenovic. The desert tournament marked Halep’s return to the tour after pulling out of last month’s St. Petersburg Open due to a knee injury. In contrast, her opponent has won her maiden WTA title and reached the final at the Acapulco Open in Mexico within the same period.
“I have no secret, I guess it is just the work that is paying off.” Mladenovic said about her start to 2017.
The lack of recent match play proved too costly for the fourth seed, who appeared lost on the Californian court. Throughout the opening set, Halep failed to convert 11 out of 13 break point opportunities as her tentative play placed her rival in prime position. Dismantling the Halep serve for the third time in the match to extend her lead to 5-3, Mladenovic’s aggressive play rewarded her the set.
A case of deja vu followed in the second set. Once again Halep’s lacklustre performance gifted Mladenovic the early break for a set and 2-1 lead. The former French Open finalist almost retrieved the break immediately as she raced to 40-0 in the following game. Still, she failed to seize those golden chances, producing a series of errors to let Mladenovic claw her back to a 3-1 lead. The prospect of a late resurgence in the match from Halep failed to occur as her error tally mounted
Strolling towards the finish line, the French player fell victim to her own nerves. A disastrous service game, featuring five double faults, temporary revived Halep’s hopes of a comeback as she broke back. Still, it failed to prevent the outcome of the match as a backhand into the net from the world No.4 in the following game booked Mladenovic’s place in the last sixteen at the tournament.
“We always have though battles and when I came onto the court today, it’s not very often that i’m leading the head-to-head.” Said Mladenovic, who has now defeated Halep in three out of their four meetings.
“It’s not the easiest conditions. I’m just very glad to get this win. It’s a very big win for me because Simona is such a tough and great player.”
Mladenovic will now play in the fourth round at Indian Wells for the first time in her career. Awaiting her will be Lauren Davis, who brushed aside Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-4.
