Kate as the boss!

Kate comes into this second round with real boss momentum after literally steamrolling Maria Timofeeva in just over an hour. Under the guidance of Michael Joyce, the Brit has erased the doubts from last season to become again that aggressive player capable of dictating the rally from the very first shot. Her performance on serve was surgical, leaving her opponent with no hope of a break. By contrast, Jaqueline narrowly escaped disaster yesterday in a near three-hour marathon against Rakotomanga Rajaonah. Even though the Countess Draculina has superior clay-court know-how, she comes out of this battle physically and mentally drained, after having to save four match points against an opponent who was injured and much lower ranked.

The tactical aspect of this match now leans heavily in Kate’s favor. On the indoor clay of Rouen, which remains relatively fast, her flat shots are likely to pierce through a Romanian who conceded no fewer than thirteen break points in her opening match. Kate also leads in their recent head-to-heads and knows perfectly well how to exploit Jaqueline’s lack of depth on her shots when she’s under pressure. If Cristian wasn’t able to dominate a diminished opponent yesterday, it’s hard to imagine her resisting the repeated assaults of a Kate who is in full possession of her athletic abilities and brimming with confidence ahead of her upcoming wedding with Alex de Minaur.