Mladenovic pumped for opportunity to take on defending champ Muguruza

PARIS—Kristina Mladenovic, who will face defending champion Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round at the French Open, says even though her matches have been emotional and draining, she can lock in and keep playing.

France's highest-ranked player in the women's draw, Mladenovic has won two marathons against Americans Jennifer Brady and Shelby Rogers.

“It’s true that [emotions are] quite high at the moment,” Mladenovic said. “It's something I like. I think it's something I'm prepared for. It's not my first time having so many high emotions, big wins, big moments. It's something I know to work on and to handle.”

She came into the tournament with a lot of good wins, but then got a back injury.

In Stuttgart, the Frenchwoman defeated Maria Sharapova in the semifinals before losing against Laura Siegemund in the final. Then she reached the final in Madrid, upsetting Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis before losing against Simona Halep in three tight sets.

Mladenovic and Muguruza have played each other once, and the Frenchwoman won, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), in Marrakech in 2015.

Muguruza won the 2016 French Open, but she has failed to win a tournament since then. Two weeks ago in Rome she also got a neck injury, which has improved.

"Apart from the slight strain and pressure, I feel good," she said. "I have no more pain in my neck.”

Mladenovic, ranked No. 14, said that she has a legitimate chance.

“Yeah, tough draw, but I think it's also tough for her," she said. "It's gonna be exciting … I think for the tournament, for the crowd, for us. She's obviously playing great tennis. [She also had] tough matches, which shows she's in a great rhythm. Looking forward to this one.”

Mladenovic had never previously been further than the third round of the French Open.

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