Caroline Garcia Defeats Naomi Osaka at Australian Open

Caroline Garcia escapes from the Naomi Osaka trap! The Frenchwoman dismissed the double winner of the Australian Open 6-4 7-6 (2) after a solid performance on Monday. Between two powerful and intractable players serving for a good part of the match, Garcia was able to make the difference in key moments. After a first set pocketed thanks to the only break of the match, the 19th in the world maintained her concentration and her level throughout the second round, to unfold in a perfectly controlled decisive game. Garcia will face Poland’s Frech in the second round.

Garcia immediately sharp

Difficult to make a more difficult draw for a seeded player in search of benchmarks. After a 2023 season that fell short of her expectations, Caroline Garcia hit the jackpot for her entry into the Australian major: Naomi Osaka, former queen of the circuit on the return after 15 months of absence. The two women had already faced each other once in Melbourne, for a narrow victory for the Japanese en route to her second triumph on the Rod Laver Arena.

It was Osaka who started serving a first set where the waitresses went up to 2-2. Between two aggressive and powerful players, rallies were a rare commodity on Monday. But in the game of small details that make the big differences, it was Garcia who stood out first, rushing into a service game poorly negotiated by Osaka, although well established at 40-15. The Japanese suddenly lost the thread, and offered a break point to the Frenchwoman with a nasty double fault. Garcia did not need to be asked to crack her opponent with a forehand and achieve the only break of the match.

Caroline Garcia – Naomi Osaka

Dominated in the exchange, Osaka was able to turn her back afterwards and raise her level of play to ward off two double break points and put the pressure back on the Frenchwoman, who escaped thanks to her quality of service. With 89% of points won behind her first ball, Garcia left little space for the Japanese, and was able to complete the set on her first opportunity, by chaining an ace then the winning service.

A high-level tie-break

The second set started on the same basis as its predecessor, with two waitresses who were authoritarian and not very worried. At 3-3, a small point was lost by Garcia along the way, when Osaka pocketed three shutouts. The Japanese then tensed up slightly, to find herself at 15-30 behind another double fault (3 in total). But the Frenchwoman’s aggressiveness on the comeback was not rewarded, and the now 831st player in the world once again went behind her first ball.

Garcia: “As my emotions played tricks on me, I focused on my breathing”

Forced to serve twice to stay in the set, Garcia did not give up despite more tension at 6-5 and two double faults without consequence. The Frenchwoman then recovered perfectly in the decisive game, flying past a helpless Osaka. Authoritarian, the No. 16 seed made the mini-break at 2-2 with his forehand, broke away 5-2 with a winning service then an ace, and definitively knocked out Osaka on the return to win finally 6-4 7-6 (2) in 1h28.

With the trap of the quadruple Grand Slam winner out of the way, Caroline Garcia can now turn to a more affordable second round, where her status as favorite will no longer be debated against the Polish Magdalena Frech. After a gala performance on the Rod Laver Arena to start her tournament, the Frenchwoman returns to current affairs.

Garcia took Osaka seriously: ‘I felt a little unlucky’ in the draw

2024-01-15 13:13:00
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