A POOR service game from Mladenovic right when she was serving for the match keeps Sharapova alive! The former World No.1 will serve to make it 5-5. Nerves from the Frenchwoman?
And Mladenovic CONVERTS! She leads 5-2. Does this signal the end of the Sharapova comeback at Stuttgart or does the three-time champion have something left in the tank to stretch this match further?
And it's at BREAK POINT NUMBER 4 that Kristina Mladenovic finally capitalizes! A jubilant roar from the Frenchwoman indicates that she believes this one is in the bag.
4-2 with the break to Kristina Mladenovic, who won the second 7-5. Something had to give!
It seems now as though both players aren't trying to outplay the other so much as wait for their rival to make errors. And right now, it's Mladenovic who sends one into the top of the net. 2-2 on serve in the decider.
Quite the bouncy backhand from Kristina Mladenovic! It spins a bit, does the ball, and lands so close to the net Sharapova was never going to make that. Sublime shot.
As predicted, the momentum has slowed somewhat. Some rudimentary errors from both players, but Mladenovic looking marginally better here in Stuttgart. 1-1.
Service hold from Kiki Mladenovic to begin set 3. 1-0 to the Frenchwoman. Although there's a fight from both ends the momentum of the match has slowed significantly - but it's either's match still...
That took long enough! And it's Kiki Mladenovic who leads 6-5 with a LONG, long, long hold of serve. Sharapova will want to serve this out and take it to tiebreak...
All looked a bit hit and miss there, and literally, with both players putting in some slides - someone's been practising their skiing!
Just joking... but this set is nowhere near as one-sided as the first. Mladenovic isn't having the most consistent time of it, but luckily for her, Sharapova's being just as patchy.
Mladenovic puts her all into that return, with Sharapova standing at 40-15, with a couple of chinks in the armour nevertheless. Unfortunately, the Frenchwoman puts a bit too much into that forehand, and we're still on serve...
As it stands, that break back appears to have given Mladenovic some much-needed confidence and she's about to hold.
But wait, it's not over yet. Sharapova brings it back to deuce, but sends a shot long by a fraction of an inch - or so it seems! Advantage Mladenovic - and she grabs it with both hands. There's no second break here, and Mladenovic leads 4-3 on serve.
Mladenovic has five double faults to Sharapova's one. Yet it's the Russian who's playing surprisingly like her French rival did in set 1, sending routine forehands into the top of the net.
Fist pump! I thought she was coming back, and now Mladenovic has done it in the best way possible. Her reactions - and returns - are getting better and less loopy - and she breaks back! We're back on even ground..
Opening of the second set and Mladenovic looks to have got some rhythm back. She's looking more comfortable on the court now, rather than a fish out of, er, clay, as she did for much of set 1. She almost starts set 2 off clean, but Sharapova breaks.
Crowds clapping along with Sharapova, it would seem.
After three set points, a fault and a few hundred decibels, Maria Sharapova, who has by far looked the superior player in this match, wins the first set 6-3 with a hold to love.
Sharapova is athletic and how! The Russian spins, pirouettes, turns and then some. Dance-routine like, almost. But Mladenovic, whose returns have been a bit loopy today, runs into the net and seals the point - and the game!
Sharapova's forehands are fast as ever and precisely placed - and she's making the most of her momentum! Mladenovic is sending some simple returns into the top of the net, and Sharapova's up 4-1 already.
We've got a short time out on our hands as Dzenita Mladenovic, the mother and coach of Slam winner Kristina, consults with her charge.
Sharapova starts off with a bang and how! We've raced away to 2-1 to the Russian on serve, and she's really attacking the backhand of her French rival!
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