The Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic says that other than Serena Williams not playing at the French Open, the tournament is not that different or “wide open.”
“Frankly, why do people keep on saying that? They say, ‘Okay, it's very open.’ There are opportunities. There are girls that have injuries,” the 24-year-old Mladenovic said.
“It's always been the case. And there will be in the future again. The only thing that changes is that Serena is not here. But for the other players, it's always been the case. So to me there is nothing new. There is no opportunity that's easier to take, no. Some of these girls play extremely well, even better than this."
"There is probably 10 or even 15 that have a very high level. All the girls in the draw can be dangerous on the courts during a match. For us, it means we always have to open our eyes. It's the best tennis you have to play. Otherwise, there's going to be a nasty surprise. Now, Serena has dominated the game for so long, and she's not here, so this is going to help us.”
The No. 14-ranked Mladenovic has been on a tear, reaching the final at Madrid a few weeks ago, upsetting Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis before losing against Simona Halep in three tight sets. In Stuttgart, she upset Maria Sharapova in the semifinals before losing against Laura Siegemund in the final.
But she has never gone deep in the singles at her home major. In 2016 at the French Open, she reached the third round against Serena and went down 6-4 7-6(10) . In 2015, she beat Genie Bouchard in the first round, but then fell in the 3rd round against Alison Van Uytvanck.
Mladenovic said that while there is now more attention around her, the pressure is the same.
“It's not the first time I'm here at Roland Garros. I'm French, it's a French tournament,” she said. “I want to go as deep as I can, to be as good a player as I can. I don't want to disappoint anybody. This is some type of pressure I have always felt. It's here again.
"People now are talking about me. They are saying, ‘Why not her?’ And that's a change. These details, you see, have changed. But otherwise for me nothing has changed, including the way I look at things, the way I see things, the way I practice, the way I work. I'm still very much focused on what I want to do, the objectives I set to myself, these types of things.
"I feel I'm gaining confidence. I'm saying it's no longer the domestic pressure. It's the international pressure that I get nowadays.”
Mladenovic is to face American Jennifer Brady in the first round.