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French Open 2017: Kristina Mladenovic thrills French crowd with win over champion Garbine Muguruza

Eurosport
ByEurosport

Updated 04/06/2017 at 17:52 GMT

Kristina Mladenovic has ended Spaniard Garbine Muguruza's defence of the French Open with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 win in the last 16.

France's Kristina Mladenovic celebrates after winning her tennis match against Spain's Garbine Muguruza

Image credit: Getty Images

French hopeful Mladenovic served 16 double faults but came out on top to set up a quarter-final meeting with either American Venus Williams or Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland.
Never mind the 16 double faults, Mladenovic sent the Roland Garros crowd into raptures as their darling reached the quarter-finals of the French Open on Sunday.
After a jittery opening set, Spanish fourth seed Muguruza rallied but 13th-seeded Frenchwoman Mladenovic perfectly played the key points in the decider to set up a meeting with either Venus Williams or Timea Bascinszky.
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Highlights: Mladenovic beats Muguruza in classic

Mladenovic, who has been hampered by back problems, leads the tournament in terms of double faults, having served 40 of them since it started. Even though she won on Sunday, she added a big contribution to that total.
'Kiki, Kiki!" yelled the crowd as Mladenovic, a player born of Serbian parents and who speaks good English and cheers herself up in Italian, negotiated her way through the tricky fourth-round match.
"I love you, too," she told the chanting crowd after the win on a sunbathed Court Suzanne Lenglen.
She paused.
"You make me cry," she continued. "Let me try to speak. It's a last-16 match against the defending champion. Big match, which I was waiting for.
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Mladenovic: It was such an amazing atmosphere, I'm so happy

"It's not perfect, there are little problems but I fight as I can. I served 35 doubles but it's good because you give me so much strength," added Mladenovic, who has been tipped as one of the tournament favourites after reaching the finals in Stuttgart and Madrid on clay this season.
Muguruza had to have a break in her press conference after she broke down in tears after having facing a hostile home crowd in Paris.
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Muguruza led out of press conference after breaking down in tears

With Alize Cornet taking on Caroline Garcia in the fourth round on Monday, two Frenchwomen will be in the last eight for the first time since 1994.
That year, Mary Pierce, the last Frenchwoman to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in 2000, reached the final, losing to Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez.

Results from the French Open Women's Singles matches on Sunday

Round 4
13-Kristina Mladenovic (France) beat 4-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) 6-1 3-6 6-3
Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) beat 23-Samantha Stosur (Australia) 2-6 6-2 6-4
11-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat 8-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-1 4-6 6-2
Round 3
Veronica Cepede Royg (Paraguay) beat Mariana Duque (Colombia) 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3
5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat Magda Linette (Poland) 6-4 7-5
2-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat Carina Witthoeft (Germany) 7-5 6-1
Petra Martic (Croatia) beat 17-Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 6-1 6-1
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