Fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic begins her quest for a Citi Open title against American wild card Samantha Crawford. The winner of this match faces the winner of Sabine Lisicki and Kristina Kucova.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between Mladenovic and Crawford.
Mladenovic’s Notable Results This Year
The Frenchwoman has struggled to put together a strong set of results so far this year and hopes to turn it around in the United States where she made her mark last year by making the quarterfinals of the US Open. Her first notable result this year came in France at Strasbourg. She was a semifinalist at the event before getting throttled by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Mladenovic found her best results to date on the grasses of Europe. It started in s-Hertogenbosch when she made the finals. Her notable wins were over Elise Mertens, who upset Eugenie Bouchard in the event and top-seeded Belinda Bencic before losing in two tight sets to CoCo Vandeweghe. Mladenovic made the quarterfinals in Eastbourne, defeating Timea Bacsinszky in the second round before losing to Monica Puig.
Crawford’s Notable Results This Year
The American made her mark early in the year after her fantastic run at the Brisbane International. She came through qualifying where she knocked off top-seeded qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in her opening match before knocking off Australia’s own Kimberly Berrell followed by Oceane Dodin.
She was lucky enough to get a winnable opening round match against Priscilla Hon, and she took advantage of that, winning in straight sets. She continued her run by knocking off Belinda Bencic and then throttling Andrea Petkovic. Her remarkable story ended at the hands of eventual champion Victoria Azarenka who brought the hammer town with a 0 and 3 win.
Crawford has played in ITF events, only making it to the quarterfinals in a few of them. She has played in all three Grand Slam main draw events with her best showing coming at Wimbledon by making it to the second round.
Analysis
Crawford hits with good depth on both wings though sometimes she can get a bit erratic. Her two-handed backhand is her money shot as that was a big proponent in her run in Brisbane. She’s vulnerable on the serve though as it lacks pace, leaving her to be attacked.
Mladenovic, on the other hand, can also hit with depth but has the consistency and power that Crawford wishes she’s has. Her variety will trouble Crawford as well as her serve which has some pop to it. Expect Crawford to get looks to in this match, but Mladenovic should have no problems in the end.
Prediction: Mladenovic in straight sets