Tennis-Fearless Mladenovic gets Serena hot and bothered

By Pritha Sarkar PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - When Kristina Mladenovic was asked if she was shaking in her designer boots at the prospect of facing "the monument of women's tennis" that is Serena Williams, the fearless Frenchwoman looked astonished. "Frightened? Afraid? Why afraid? I'm not frightened. The word 'dream' comes to my mind," Mladenovic had declared after setting up the third-round showdown at the French Open. In a match played in two instalments on Saturday thanks to the fickle Parisian weather that halted proceedings for 2-1/2 hours as a thunderous downpour descended over Roland Garros, Mladenovic made sure she would not live to regret her words. While the final 6-4 7-6(10) result may not have been quite the dream ending she was hoping for, Mladenovic produced a fearless brand of tennis to prove that she was not intimidated by her opponent's formidable reputation. "She really forced me to bring out my best tennis today," said a hot and bothered Williams, whose electric blue dress had turned into a darker shade by the end of the two hour 11 minute tussle. When Mladenovic made her bold declaration, fans were left wondering if she was being serious or if it was just false bravado. After all Mladenovic has yet to win a singles title of any kind and she had never advanced beyond the third round at Roland Garros. Williams in contrast is a 21-times grand slam champion, has triumphed in Paris three times and is considered by many as the greatest woman to have played the sport. The American world number one had also dropped only five games in her opening two matches at this year's championships. Mladenovic, however, had no intention of dwelling on the past. Instead, as the Frenchwoman whooped in delight at saving nine break points during a nerve-jangling second set, Williams got more and more animated. The American arched her back and roared into the skies after mis-hitting a volley into the net, she bent over and squealed in frustration after misfiring a backhand beyond the baseline and howled in agony after a forehand missed its target. But all that drama was quickly forgotten when the duo came back on court following the thunderstorm to resume battle in a titanic tiebreak lasting 17 minutes. Mladenovic got the crowd on their feet as she romped to a 5-2 lead but in typical Williams fashion, she burst the boisterous celebrations by winning the next four points. What came next was anything but typical Williams. The American produced some howlers as four match points went begging. At 6-5 she drew a chorus of 15,000 gasps as she smashed the ball metres over the baseline and she was again way off target at 8-7, misfiring a forehand well beyond the court markings. The American then drew on the wealth of experience that has earned her 70 titles to save a set point before finally sealing victory when Mladenovic belted a forehand wide. While Mladenovic missed out on adding her name to France's famous five of Sandrine Testud, Amelie Mauresmo, Marion Bartoli, Virginie Razzano and Alize Cornet -- the only Frenchwomen to have beaten Williams in a grand slam -- the American set up a fourth-round meeting with Ukrainian 18th seed Elina Svitolina. (Editing by Ed Osmond)