Lyon (AFP)
French N.1 Kristina Mladenovic was eliminated in the second round of the Lyon tournament after her defeat on Thursday against German Anna Lena Friedsam 6-3, 6-3.
Mladenovic (26), 42nd player in the world, was seeded No. 2 in the event, while Friedsam (26) is ranked 136th in the WTA ranking.
Very disappointed, she did not participate in the traditional post-match press conference and quickly left the Palais des sports de Gerland, before finally confiding in the organizers.
"I must underline the very big performance of my opponent. She delivered a very big match and she served very well. I really wanted to settle my service which had failed in the first round and it was much better. But she had an answer for everything. She had decided to hit very hard in all the compartments of the game and it was really difficult for me to find what could hinder her tonight. Well done to her, "she said.
In the first round, she had already struggled to win by winning in three races against another Frenchwoman Chloé Paquet (166th world and French N.7) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Friedsam will face Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova in the quarter-finals on Friday.
For her part, French N.2 Caroline Garcia will face Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck, 62nd player in the world.
The American Sofia Kenin, big favorite of the tournament after her coronation at the Australian Open, will face the French Océane Dodin who spent her 2nd round after the defeat of her opponent, the Swiss Jill Teichmann.
Finally, the Russian Daria Katastikna will have as an adversary the Italian Camila Giorgi who eliminated the Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet on Wednesday.
© 2020 AFP