STRASBOURG, France – Fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic will play in her first semifinal this season after downing Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-4, 6-2 at the Strasbourg International on Thursday.
Mladenovic, who received a wild card, led two other Frenchwomen in the last four, Caroline Garcia and lucky loser Virginie Razzano.
In a match featuring 13 breaks of serve, Mladenovic was the strongest on important points and was glad she spent just 68 minutes on the court after a three-setter against Alison Riske in her previous match.
"It was a quick match and it's the ideal scenario before a semifinal, to be able to get some rest and not walk out on the court tomorrow tired," she said.
Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni prevented an all-French semifinals by sweeping past Pauline Parmentier 6-0, 6-1.
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