PARIS: France's Kristina Mladenovic insists "revenge" is not fueling her desire to beat Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky when the pair clash in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Mladenovic accused Bacsinszky of gamesmanship after losing a tense three-set battle in February's Fed Cup first round, a tie Switzerland went on to win 4-1.
But the French 13th seed said the anguish of that defeat would not factor into her approach as she looks to the reach last four of a Grand Slam for the first time.
"I don't see things like that. It's not, you know, because it's Timea that I must get my revenge. That's not my mindset," said Mladenovic, who is through to the last eight at a major for just the second time.
"It would be a negative approach. I don't prepare my matches out of revenge. I want to go out there and win every match.
"I'm going to go into this match, (thinking) it's a Grand Slam quarterfinals here in Roland Garros."
Bacsinszky drew the ire of her French rival in Geneva after seeking medical help for a knee injury during a critical passage midway through the deciding set.
When she returned, she took a 21-shot rally and claimed eight of the next nine points to seize control of the match.
A day earlier, world number 31 Bacsinszky had left the court during her win over Alize Cornet for treatment to a wasp sting on her elbow.
But the Swiss, a Roland Garros semi-finalist in 2015, showed no remorse for her actions after dumping out Venus Williams in Paris for the second year in a row.
"I'm totally comfortable with what I did and said during the Fed Cup," said Bacsinszky, seeded 30th at this year's French Open.
"I know that the two French players were very critical. I'm not quite sure why. It wasn't a wasp trick. I was really stung by a wasp.
"I had to manage the pain. At night my nose clogged up and my eyes went all puffy. I had to take anti-allergy medicine.
"And the medical timeout I took against Mladenovic on the second day, it showed on the videos.
"That's why I really wanted to take no risks. (Laura) Siegemund, her knee went 10 days ago, and she was a potential winner, too."
Bacsinszky blasted Mladenovic's assertion that the Swiss was renowned for bending the rules, but she was keen to move on from the incident.
"When she said that I was known for that sort of thing on the circuit, really? I think we should ask other players if that's what they think," Bacsinszky replied.
"People can think what they want. Of course, it's not so cool to lose a match. Sometimes you need to take a step back, a deep breath.
"Do I bear grudges? Not really," she added. "I feel comfortable with what I did. I feel comfortable what I said about people. So I think that's it, really."