French Open 2022: Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Roland Garros
Match Details
Fixture: (17) Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic
Date: 22 May 2022
Tournament: French Open 2022
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €21,256,800
Match timing: Approx. 5 p.m. local time, 3 p.m. GMT, 11 a.m. ET and 8:30 p.m. IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports and Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten
Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic preview
World No. 17 Leylah Fernandez will square off against home favorite Kristina Mladenovic in the first round of the 2022 French Open on Sunday.
Fernandez's clay season this year has been quite disappointing by her lofty standards. Magda Linette knocked her out of the Charleston Open in the first round, before she scored her first win on the red dirt at the Madrid Open, defeating former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic in three sets. She then lost to Jil Teichmann in the second round.
At the Italian Open, Fernandez was up against 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round. She lost the opening set quite easily, but staged a spirited fightback to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. The Canadian took the opening set in her second-round contest against Daria Kasatkina, but lost the match in three sets.
Fernandez's best result at the French Open so far has been a third-round showing in 2020.
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Winning the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open this year remains the highlight of Kristina Mladenovic's season so far. Once ranked as high as number 10 in singles, she has now fallen out of the top 100.
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Mladenovic's record for the year stands at 2-10 across the WTA and ITF tours. Both of her wins have come on clay. The first was at the Madrid Open, where she defeated Mayar Sherif in the first round of qualifying. She defeated compatriot Tessah Andrianjafitrimo in three tough sets in the first round of the Rabat Open for her second win of the year.
Mladenovic is aormer quarterfinalist at the French Open, but has won just two matches in her last four appearances at the tournament.
Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic head-to-head
The two are set to face off for the first time on the WTA tour, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Leylah Fernandez vs Kristina Mladenovic prediction
While Fernandez's recent results haven't been up to the mark, Mladenovic has struggled in singles for a long time. Nevertheless, the Frenchwoman is quite a decent player on clay and given her past experience, one can never rule her out completely.
One of Mladenovic's biggest weaknesses is her serve. She hit 17 double faults in two matches at the Rabat Open. Her tendency to double fault under pressure often leads to a match slipping out of her fingers.
She's got a decent all-court game and isn't afraid to change the tempo of rallies by altering between slices and topspin. Being an excellent doubles player, she's quite comfortable at the net too. However, a lack of conviction has often led to downfall.
Fernandez is a gritty player who fights for every points regardless of the score of the match. The Canadian is quite adept at redirecting pace, taking the ball early and moving it around the court effortlessly. She's also likely to pounce on any missteps by Mladenovic on her serve. Considering their recent form and current ranking, Fernandez is likely to win their first encounter comfortably.
Pick: Leylah Fernandez to win in straight sets.