A great performance that feels good. Caroline Garcia (27th in the world) passed the obstacle of the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, after her surprise victory over the American Coco Gauff, world number 3, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in 1h43min .
The French number 1, who manages to pass three rounds of a tournament for the first time since Beijing in October 2023, will meet for a place in the last four the Romanian Sorana Cirstea (24th) or the American Danielle Collins (53rd).
Highs and lows
Garcia, who remained on two victories against Gauff at the US Open 2022 then at the WTA Masters the same season, got into her match very well. From the second game, she got two break points, and converted the second on a fault from the young American, 20, to lead 2-0, then break away 3-0 by winning her serve.
More enterprising, strong in legs, very aggressive in returns, efficient in serving, not hesitating to take the net, the Lyonnaise, faced with a stifled player who was unable to put her game in place, managed to keep this precious serve in advance. She won the first set 6-3 in 37 minutes.
Strong reaction from Gauff from the start of the next one: the world number 3, suddenly more precise, pressing her shots more, then won eleven points in a row to come away 3-0. Leaving no more respite for his opponent, Gauff won 6-1 in 24 minutes this second set during which Garcia only scored eight points.
Resurrected after her shoulder injury
To make matters worse, the pain in her right shoulder, from which Garcia had already suffered at the end of the match against Naomi Osaka the day before, had reawakened, and the Frenchwoman had a long massage before starting the third round. People didn’t give much of their skin then.
But Garcia, 30, won her service game with forceps after being down 15-40, before stealing that of her opponent and breaking away, as in the first set, 3-0. Suddenly revived, the Frenchwoman, having her shoulder massaged at each change of sides, held on and won this bizarre game with a backhand into Gauff’s net.
“In matches against Coco, I always have the feeling that things can turn around very quickly,” said Garcia, relieved after this victory, her first against a Top 10 player since her coronation at the WTA Masters in November 2022. “That feels good to win this type of match,” said the 30-year-old, who arrived in Miami after losing four of her last five matches. “It gives a moral boost.”
