Laura Siegemund went up against seventh seed Kristina Mladenovic in the first round at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy at Sigur Arena. It was a set of impressive tennis as Mladenovic was cruising comfortably winning the first set and was up a break in the second. It all changed as the German found her game to break back to subsequently win the second set. From then all it was all Siegemund as Mladenovic faded away, earning an impressive 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over the seventh seed.
Mladenovic Overpowers Siegemund
Mladenovic got the match underway with a service hold. It didn't take long for the Frenchwoman to use her bag of tricks with a sneaky drop shot to good effect on Siegemund's serve. She got her first chance at the German's serve right at the start. Siegemund unleashed a string of winners to save the break points, but was unable to finish the game as she netted twice to hand the break to Mladenovic who went up 2-0.
The German tried to be aggressive as Mladenovic dropped her serve a little, but rarely troubled as the Frenchwoman held serve. Siegemund then got herself on board still trailing 1-4. Another comfortable love hold follows as Mladenovic plays her best game of the set in the sixth game. A beautiful backhand pass by the Frenchwoman and an unforced error by Siegemund set up another couple of break points for the seventh seed. Mladenovic gets her second break with a fiery forehand before she closed out the first set 6-1 in 27 minutes.
Siegemund Fights Back After A Slow Start To Edge The Second Set
Mladenovic started the first set where she left off with a break in the first game. The German's intents started showing as she fought hard but the seventh seed held serve to lead 2-0. Siegemund found her game as she started coming to the net more often working Mladenovic left and right to get herself on the board. The next four games went on serve as the German began to hold her serves comfortably but still trailed 3-4.
The seventh seed's serves started to be shaky as she played her worst game allowing the German a look in on her weaker second serves. Siegemund needed no second invitation as she broke back to level 4-4 when presented with triple break point. The German kept up with her pressure as she led for the first time 5-4 on serves. Mladenovic nearly buckled over as she presented Siegemund chance to break and take the set twice in the 10th game. The French hung on but there was a sense of shift in momentum. The seventh seed was put under pressure once more in the 12th game. This time Siegemund gets rewarded with another three set points for her aggressive play and grabbed the second set 7-5.
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Mladenovic Fades Away As Siegemund Powers Through
Siegemund now with the momentum as she holds and got the first break in the third set as Mladenovic played yet another poor service game. The Frenchwoman doing all she can as she forced the German to save break points three times before Siegemund gets a huge hold to go 3-0 up. The German had a game plan and she stuck to it, pouncing on weak second serves and coming to the net more often whenever there were short returns on the Mladenovic serve. The Frenchwoman dug out a hole despite the German's intent, to get herself on board in the third set.
Mladenovic however ran out of answers as Siegemund continued to attack her weak second serves with interest. The German unleashed another return winner to break and lead 5-1. Mladenovic looked down and out but was still fighting in the seventh game as she had made one more break opportunity for herself. The German proved too strong though as she saved that as well and went on to win the match 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 in slightly over two hours.
Match Stats
As the match wore on, Siegemund's first serve percent improved to an average of 73 percent while Mladenovic's first serve percent kept dropping to an average of 62 percent.
Mladenovic had four aces but she hit eight double faults, twice as many as Siegemund. The German also had more winners at 36 in comparison to Mladenovic who hit 25. Unforced errors count for the German were higher at 22 to Mladenovic's 15 but it was understandable as the German was the more aggressive of the two.