Caroline Garcia (48th) qualified for the second round of the Palermo Open after her victory over her compatriot Chloé Paquet (103rd). If the logic of the classification was respected, Garcia could have avoided a few extra minutes by being more realistic in the first set. Indeed, she had made the first break to break away 4-2 before seeing Paquet come back up. Garcia also had a set point that she couldn’t convert on her opponent’s serve and had to go through a badly negotiated tiebreak.
It was enough to spur the Lyonnaise who immediately reacted by putting much more consistency in her game. To tell the truth, once she found the accuracy that had been lacking in the first set, There really wasn’t a match in the second set, dispatched in 33 minutes.
The gap between the two players was also felt at the start of the last set, until a small drop in concentration from Garcia allowed Paquet to stay in the match thanks to a break (4-2). Enough to offer a tense end to the match between a Paquet who felt that her opponent was losing superbly and a Garcia who could not conclude. She had to save three break points while serving for the match. But if his forehand went wide on his first match point, on the second he gave Paquet no chance.
Also in contention in Palermo on Tuesday, Clara Burel lost earlier in the day to Anna Bondar (6-4, 6-4).
