A day after securing an emphatic victory over Ajla Tomljanovic in her first singles rubber of the 2019 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final, France’s Kristina Mladenovic produced a stunning comeback against Austraalin world No.1 Ashleigh Barty.
After dropping the first set, Mladenovic saved a break point at 4-3 in the second set, when Barty netted a return and wasted a chance to serve for the match. Rather, Mladenovic broke Barty to serve out the set and send the contest into a decider.
Mladenovic’s momentum brought her a 3-1 lead in the third set, but after a dramatic battle, which even included both players dropping serve to love at the most critical moments, the Frenchwoman forced a tiebreak and lost just one point in it to win 2-6 6-4 7-6(1) and give her country a 2-1 lead in the Fed Cup final.
In the second reverse singles match on Sunday, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic will take on France’s Pauline Parmentier, a replacement for Caroline Garcia, who was double-bageled by Barty on Saturday.
