Wednesday at the Internationaux de Strasbourg was all about the local favorites as three French players were in the second-round action, hoping to make the round of the last eight.
The first of the French girls to make her center-court appearance on Wednesday was Alize Cornet and the French #1 was met by an enthusiastic crowd that was willing to cheer her on into the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately for the local fans, Elena Vesnina, Cornet’s opponent on the other side of the net, had a different plan for the day. After clinching the first set, Cornet lost control of the match as the Russian started to dictate the way the match unfolded. Even though the crowd never gave up on Cornet, Vesnina proved too composed for the Frenchwoman whose temperament started to get the best of her in the closing stages of the third set, allowing Vesnina to make her way into the quarterfinals.
It wasn’t all bad news for the French fans though, as both Kristina Mladenovic & Virgine Razzano delivered the desired results for the patriotic French. While Mladenovic was able to get past Alison Riske in straight sets, Razzano enjoyed an impressive straight-set win over Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone.
Even though the fourth match of the day did not involve any French players, Madison Keys’ encounter with WTA veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was still highly entertaining for the spectators as both players fought out a two-and-a-half-hour battle that was too close to call until the very last game. The three-set match forced both players to endure a wide range of conditions including sunshine, rain and storms as the Strasbourg weather has been proven unpredictable all week. In the end, Keys overcame a deficit in the third set to move on in Strasbourg.
Thursday is the quarterfinal day at the Internationaux de Strasbourg and all three top seeds will be in action. Jelena Jankovic will take on Sloane Stephens, while Madison Keys faces off with Kristina Mladenovic and Ajla Tomljanovic and Sam Stosur will fight out their all-Australian battle.
I’m rooting for Alja and Kiki on this tournament. I want them to win their maiden titles! 🙂