Mixed fortunes for French committed on the grounds of the Miami 1000 Tennis Masters yesterday. If Mahut, pair, Chardy and Parmentier brilliantly passed the second round, this is not the case of Apulia, Mladenovic and Garcia fought all three at night (in France).
Kristina Mladenovic in Miami will not confirm his brilliant fifteen Indian Wells the French No.1 fell from his opening match Friday, as Lucas Pouille, but Jérémy Chardy saved French honor by beating world N.9 Marin Cilic.
Less than a week after his semi-final in Indian Wells, the best result of his career in a tournament of this quality, Mladenovic fell from above: it has been the law of the Romanian Patricia Tig, 95th in the WTA rankings and outcome qualifications. The northerner bowed in two sets 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and failed to adapt to the conditions.
“I was not at all tired, but playing conditions were extremely difficult with a lot of wind” , has she explained. “I’m not worried about my game. I lose early here, but what I remember is that I leave the tour Indian Wells-Miami being the 18th world” , she insisted. Russian Elena Vesnina, sacred to the surprise in Indian Wells, has also bitten the dust in his first match against Croatian Alja Tomljanovic, world 594th, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The former doubles partner of Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia, did no better: when she reached the 8th finals in Indian Wells, his best result of a season so far disappointing, she dropped input face China’s Peng Shuai, 43rd World (6-4, 6-0). There remains in the table that female Pauline Parmentier (N.57), who beat Timea Babos Hungarian, 27th world, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2, 6-0.
Chardy reassures
Already prominent in Indian Wells where she pushed the German Angelique Kerber before yielding the 3rd round Parmentier will face in the next round the Columbia Johanna Konta 11th player in the world. In the absence of the two best French Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who became a father for the first time Friday and Gaël Monfils injured Lucas Pouille took the opportunity to show that he had the makings of a future N .1 french. But the 15th World suffered for the second time in ten days the law of the American Donald Young, who was eliminated in the 3rd round at Indian Wells. His defeat in Key Biscayne was even sharper (6-2, 6-4). Gilles Simon also has not weighed heavily against the German Jan-Lennard Struff (6-1, 6-1).
Three French crossed the third round, beating each of the best players classés.Nicolas Mahut (N.55) took the best of the American Steve Johnson, 28th World (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) and Benoît Paire (N.39) outperformed the Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas, 26th World and recent quarter-finalist at Indian Wells (7-5, 6-0), but the prize goes to Chardy who dominated Croatian Marin Cilic (6 -4, 2-6, 6-3) .The Pau, 77th in the ATP rankings, had beaten most of the top 10 global player since the US Open in 2015 and comes from afar: “I ended last season by not having any desire to play tennis […] it feels good after the last few months have been difficult “ , he admitted.
Before the opening match of the favorite, Roger Federer on Saturday, the other top names from the world top 10 held their rank, like the Japanese Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal, winner of the South respectively African Kevin Anderson (6-4, 6-3) and Israeli Dudi Sela (6-3, 6-4).
