Mladenovic takes advantage of Venus' Melbourne hangover
There was no repeat of her Australian Open run at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy for Venus Williams, who fell at the first hurdle.
Venus Williams could not maintain her excellent Australian Open form, falling to a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Kristina Mladenovic in the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
The veteran rolled back the years at Melbourne Park last week, embarking on a run to the final where she was beaten by younger sister Serena.
And that campaign possibly took its toll on the 36-year-old, who enjoyed a bye in the first round in Russia but was well below her best on Thursday.
She was broken five times as Mladenovic wrapped up a 6-3 6-1 success in less than an hour, victory secured when Williams double-faulted to sum up a disappointing outing in fitting fashion.
Mladenovic will face defending champion Roberta Vinci in the quarter-finals, after the Italian eased past Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-4.
Meanwhile, Fifth seed Elena Vesnina had to come from a set down to defeat Alize Cornet 2-6 6-3 6-3.