GLOBAL CHICK CHECKS IN FROM BIRMINGHAM GRASS COURT TENNIS AND PANCHO SENDS A POSTCARD WITH MICHAELLA KRAJICEK

Written by: Global Chick on 19th June 2015

GLOBAL CHICK CHECKS IN FROM BIRMINGHAM GRASS COURT TENNIS AND PANCHO SENDS A POSTCARD WITH MICHAELLA KRAJICEK

Pancho and Michaella Krajicek. |

Pancho & Michaella Krajicek. Photo by Lovey.

Mladenovic moment in the sun – Global Chick’s Birmingham diary

The sun might have been shining but that does not mean that the self-styled capital of The Midlands was giving out a warm reception. Top seed Simona Halep really had the trophy on her racquet to lose as play closed out yesterday, and as she breezed through the first set, it looked like things were back on course.

But not registering a score on the board in the second set gave France’s Kristina Mladenovic a chance to perhaps give her little brother the sweetest 19th birthday gift – his big sis hitting a WTA Premier semi-final.

Mladenovic hung tough in the deciding set, breaking to serve out the match (although predictably failing to). Halep did say to us hacks a few tournaments back that she would now fight for every point, and battle she did, but at times was shaking out her arm.

Sadly, having been edged out by Mladenovic, she then pulled out of her scratch doubles pairing with Heather Watson in a bid to rest up for Wimbledon. But the moment of the day really belonged to Mladenovic, who explained to us in press how she felt under pressure to win for her brother.

“It’s his birthday, so I had such a big pressure. I actually wanted to win this match so bad just to offer him the best gift I can. He’s 19 and he’s a football player, and right now it’s the holidays for him.

I just thought it would be fun to have my brother. We always have fun, we talk, but he’s also very serious. He knows about tennis. He’s maybe younger than me, but also used to play really good tennis before choosing completely football. It’s also fun, but sometimes I just ask him, Okay, what did you see?”

For her win today she earns a crack at her first WTA Premier final, and she takes with her a bit of confidence, having got a win over her opponent Karolina Pliskova, who beat Carla Suarez Navarro in the first match of the day.

Now players will always tell you, it’s a new day, one match at a time, but Mladenovic did admit that knowing you have an edge over a recent head to head with a player.

“You know, the matches are different; all days are different. They are all very great players, but it’s nice to have already maybe an advantage head‑to‑head like mental thing when you go out there on the court – back there in the head you have this record against them. They probably can think about it. It’s maybe a little advantage.

“But still, I’m definitely thinking about having a very tough battle against Karolina tomorrow, because she had a tremendous year. She’s in super form, and she’s also a very good friend of mine on the tour, one of the rare girl. I really like and hang around with her. It is semifinal of a Premier event. For sure it will be a very difficult match.”

Rounding out the day was the set-up for an all German final as Angelique Kerber handled teenager Katerina Siniakova with ease, and while Sabine Lisicki had maybe a little more of a competitive bout in the opening set, she dispatched Daniela Hantuchova.

Meanwhile we get to enjoy the vastly changed sites of Birmingham since this Global Chick tromped around the university haunts of the city in her youth, at least while the weather is still out friend.

Editors Note : MICHAELLA Krajicek of the Netherlands is glowing as any bride to be. The big wedding to Martin Emmerichs is about a month away. Here she is discussing today’s game plan with her physio Pancho. Misa is playing dubs with Kristina Strycova and is in the semi finals.

Photo by Lovey.

Birmingham Mladenovic Survives Halep, Pliskova Tops Suárez Navarro

AEGON CLASSIC BIRMINGHAM – BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

$ 731,000.00

JUNE 15 – 21, 2015

RESULTS – JUNE 19, 2015

Women’s

Singles – Quarterfinals

K. Mladenovic (FRA) d [1] S. Halep (ROU) 26 60 76(4)

[6] Ka. Pliskova (CZE) d [3] C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) 62 62

[4] A. Kerber (GER) d K. Siniakova (CZE) 62 64

[8] S. Lisicki (GER) d D. Hantuchova (SVK) 76(2) 62

Women’s

Doubles – Quarterfinals

M. Krajicek (NED) / B. Strycova (CZE) d [2] T. Babos (HUN) / K. Mladenovic (FRA) walkover

A. Hlavackova (CZE) / L. Hradecka (CZE) d [3] R. Kops-Jones (USA) / A. Spears (USA) 36 63 10-8

Y. Chan (TPE) / J. Zheng (CHN) d [WC] S. Halep (ROU) / H. Watson (GBR) walkover

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2015

ANN JONES CENTRE COURT start 12:00 noon

K. Mladenovic (FRA) vs [6] Ka. Pliskova (CZE)

[4] A. Kerber (GER) vs [8] S. Lisicki (GER)

A. Hlavackova (CZE) / L. Hradecka (CZE) vs M. Krajicek (NED) / B. Strycova (CZE)

Y. Chan (TPE) / J. Zheng (CHN) vs [4] G. Muguruza (ESP) / C. Suárez Navarro (ESP)

For Results

http://www.wtatennis.com/scores-and-stats

Photo by Lovey.

Topics: Birmingham, global chick, Grass tennis, Kristina Mladenovic, Kristina Strycova, Martin Emmerichs, Michaella Krajicek, Sports, Tennis News, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

June 19, 2015 at 12:49 pm

GLOBAL CHICK CHECKS IN FROM #BIRMINGHAM GRASS COURT #TENNIS AND PANCHO SENDS A POSTCARD WITH @MisaKrajicek- http://t.co/wFUaz1vKRo