Mladenovic dispatches Sharapova to reach Stuttgart Open final

French number one Kristina Mladenovic will take on the local heroine Laura Siegemund in Sunday’s final at the Stuttgart Open. Mladenovic, the world number 19, ended Maria Sharapova’s first tournament back on the circuit after a 15 month ban for doping.

Kristina Mladenovic ended Maria Sharapova's run at the Stuttgart Open.

The Russian former world number one took the first set 6-3. But Mladenovic clawed her way back to win the second 7-5. She claimed the decider 6-4 after a match lasting two hours and 38 minutes.

"That was a thriller," said the 23-year-old who recorded her first win over Sharapova. “She was very aggressive from the first stroke of the rally. I had difficulty with that at the beginning of the match but I dug in and fought and ultimately it paid off.”

Sharapova refused to blame her rustiness for her defeat. "I'm not angry,” said the 30-year-old. “I'd have loved to have used the opportunity when I was ahead in the second set but I had a bit of a let down which allowed her to get back in the match, gain confidence and play well.

"I didn't keep putting that pressure on her and if you allow that to happen to a player like her, it becomes dangerous."

Sharapova’s return to the circuit via wildcard invitations to Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome, has divided opinion on the circuit. Some players have been openly critical of the decisions but the crowds in Stuttgart have been supportive of a star draw who has won the tournament three times.

She will leave Germany with a world ranking of 260 and will learn on 16 May whether she will be given a wild card for the main draw at the French Open where she has won two of her five Grand Slam titles.

"I'll be in Europe for the next couple of months,” Sharapova said. “But this is what I want to go through. I want the matches and to see how my body responds. I want to feel the tiredness of match play, it's different and you can't train that.

"I love that feeling. This is what I asked for, this is what I am doing. I will be treating Madrid and Rome just as importantly as the Grand Slams at this point, because I have been out of the game for so long. They are match play and that is what I need."

Mladenovic will have to be at her best in the final. Siegemund repeated her feats of last year when she beat three top 10 players - Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska - to reach the final.

In her semi-final on Saturday, Sigemund disposed of Halep 6-4 7-5.