Led by Caroline Garcia, France wins against the Netherlands – Liberation

For two days, the sound of drums and “Go Blues” burst into the room of the Cauldron full to bursting. This time, it is not for a basketball match of the ESSM Le Portel Côte d’Opale that the 3,500 people present in the enclosure, renowned for its boosted atmosphere, give voice, but for a tennis match. On November 11 and 12, France was indeed opposed to the Netherlands during the play-offs of the Billie Jean King Cup (ex-Fed Cup) at Portel, in Pas-de-Calais.

This Saturday afternoon, after a final winning serve, the leader of the France team, Caroline Garcia, raises her arms to the sky as she throws her racquet. Freshly arrived from the United States where she created a sensation by winning the prestigious end-of-year Masters in Fort Worth, Texas, the world number 4 held her rank as the best player of the moment by winning the match offering the point victory to France (6/2 6/3 in 1h22 against Lesley Kerkhove, 207th in the world).

“That’s what we wanted!”

If on paper, the tricolors were largely favorites against a team from the Netherlands made up of Suzan Lamens (23 years old, 213th in the world, first selection), Lesley Kerkhove (31 years old, 207th in the world), Demi Schuurs (29 years old, 512th in singles, 17th in doubles) and Lexie Stevens (23 years old, 432nd), the challenge of this play-off match was no less important: keeping them in the world elite group. After their defeat against Italy in the qualifying round in April in Alghero, the French team had to win this weekend to avoid being demoted to the lower division and thus have a chance of winning the Billie Jean King Cup. in 2023 (the final phase will take place in April).

“That’s what we wanted! Thank you Caro!” fervently launches a supporter, twisted in his tricolor scarf. For two days, the Frenchwoman has been welcomed like a rock star by the Cauldron audience, a large ovation systematically filling the stadium when her name is announced by the announcer. The recent exploits of the tricolor are on everyone’s lips: “I followed what she did at the Masters. It is largely to see her that we are here., whispers between two exchanges Rafael, 55, who came with his children from Boulogne-sur-Mer to attend the meeting. Like many people, the supporter was somewhat disappointed with the withdrawal of the Frenchwoman at the last minute on Friday, when she had trained normally the day before and the same day with her teammate Chloé Paquet.

In consultation with an independent doctor and the staff, captain Julien Benneteau finally decided not to field Garcia on Friday. It must be said that the timing of the Lyonnaise, selected for several months for the meeting, was very tight.

The euphoria of his coronation Monday at the Masters barely passed, the tricolor very quickly had to concentrate on meeting Billie Jean King Cup. “There is bound to be fatigue, we are not going to lie to each other, the trip was long and the last nights short, with the excitement, the jet lag… she explained to the press on Thursday. I haven’t digested it yet, it’s very recent. And today, I’m with the France team so it’s not the time to think about what happened on Monday. It’s a really important weekend for us and I’ll try to bring all the positive energy I have with this victory.

By becoming the second Frenchwoman to win the Masters at the end of the year after Amélie Mauresmo in 2005, Caroline Garcia entered another dimension. Since Roland-Garros in June, where she also won in doubles with Kristina Mladenovic, the world number 4 (her best ranking, already achieved in 2018) is the player who has collected the most points on the WTA circuit on the second part of the season (3,983 points against 3,795 for number 1 Iga Swiatek).

“She marked a great page in history”

The French had however gone to the United States in particular conditions after the departure of her trainer, Bertrand Perret, key element of her ascent this year. The latter, who has been following her since November 2021, helped her move from 75th place in the world to 6th in a few months (with three titles on the clock in Bad Homburg, Warsaw and Cincinnati and a semi-final at the ‘U.S. Open). But problems of a non-sporting nature “ended up spoiling the mood”he explained to the team, without giving more details, pushing him to abruptly end their collaboration at the end of October. Taken aback, the Garcia clan called on the Argentinian coach Juan Pablo Guzmán to follow them during their Texan adventure. Capitalizing on the confidence garnered in recent months, Caroline Garcia did not seem more destabilized than that on the grounds of Fort Worth, winning the biggest title of her career there.

“It’s historic what she did. She marked a great page in history, she deserves it. Now, from experience, I know that you always have to reset the counters before a Fed Cup match. She will have to recover emotionally and physically, she is human like everyone else., anticipated her teammate Alizé Cornet before the meeting. Too fair on Friday, Caroline Garcia was replaced at short notice by Diane Parry. The young 19-year-old Frenchwoman, 76th in the world, was playing her first match with the jersey of the France team. Perfectly launched by an exemplary Alizé Cornet during the first match (victory 6/2 6 /0 in 56 minutes against Lesley Kerkhove), Diane Parry went through all the emotions, even saving a match point, before winning the tie -break of the 3rd set – victory 7/6 (5) 6/2 7/6 (3) in 2h33 against Suzan Lamens.

Saturday, Caroline Garcia’s match, inevitably highly anticipated, was only a formality despite the apparent fatigue of the tricolor. “I was so happy to be able to play today. When the announcer announced my prize list, it warmed my heart to see the reaction of the public, it’s something very newshe launched after the match, her eyes darkened but visibly relieved. I’ve had a lot of messages since Monday. The enthusiasm is incredible.” Make way for a few days of well-deserved vacation for the French number 1 who will then embark on a fundamental preparation before leaving for Australia in January, with one objective in mind: to shine at the Australian Open.