kristina Mladenovic advances to quarterfinal of the Us Open 2015

The best Grand Slam tournament of Kristina Mladenovic’s life will continue. With the poise of a player who’s been there before, Mladenovic knocked off the No. 13 seed Ekaterina Makarova in the late match in Arthur Ashe Stadium Sunday night, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. 

 With the victory, the 22-year-old Frenchwoman denied the veteran Makarova, 27, a chance to return to a second consecutive US Open semifinal. Instead, it’s Mladenovic who’s enjoying a career breakthrough in New York. She is on to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time. Her previous best Grand Slam showing had been the third round. “I have absolutely no words to describe my feeling right now,” Mladenovic said on court after the match ended shortly after 1 a.m. “I just want to thank you guys for staying so late.
” Mladenovic ran away with an otherwise even affair, breaking Makarova three times in the final set. She coasted with the confidence of a long-time Grand Slam veteran. She mixed in drop shots with heavy forehands. She charged the net on deep approach shots. She effectively dragged her opponent wide with her serve and followed with a deep shot to the open court. Mladenovic also stepped to the side and obliterated Makarova’s second serve, and she even showed a little gumption, executing a tweener and winning the point. 
 “To be honest, this is something I’m practicing,” Mladenovic said. “You also have to be a little bit crazy to try it in a match.”