Caroline Garcia Overcomes Tough Challenge in WTA 250 Tournament Opener

How hard it was for Caroline Garcia. Engaged in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen (clay and indoor) against the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 55th player in the world, the Frenchwoman finally came out in three sets (6-1, 3-6, 7 -5).

This victory “feels nice”, she commented. “It was a complicated match. She’s a difficult opponent to play against, she has a lot of intensity, she tries to take the ball very early.” Garcia noted that the preparation for clay had been short – after the hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami, she stepped on the ocher for the first time this season last weekend in the Billy Jean King Cup against to Great Britain.

“So it’s great to be able to win and have another match to play,” she continued. Facing an opponent she had beaten in their three previous confrontations, the 23rd player in the world started the game with her feet on the floor on Tuesday, showing herself to be uncompromising on serve and breaking twice. Aggressive both on serve and return, she concluded a one-sided first set 6-1 in 28 minutes with an ace.

But, like last weekend at Portel with the French team, where she lost to the British Emma Raducanu in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), everything came to a halt at second set. His first ball fell from 75% to 48% while the rate of points won by his opponent on his first ball increased from 43% to 85%.

Garcia found the resources

Garcia let a break point slip in his favor in the 5th game only to lose his serve immediately with a double fault, before seeing the set slip away with a shutout (6-3). The third round started very badly with a break for the Italian from the 3rd game, on a backhand in the middle of the net which made her throw her racket on the ground in anger, allowing Cocciaretto to lead 2-1, service to follow.

But Garcia found the resources to come back when her opponent served for the match, equalizing at 5-5 before beating her to the post with a superb short crosscourt forehand (7-5). This qualification from Garcia came to balance the afternoon of the Bleues in Rouen, with the defeats of the qualifier Fiona Ferro against the Russian Elina Avanesyan (6-2, 1-6, 7-5) and that of Alizé Cornet, in difficulty with her play (10 double faults), against the Ukrainian No.3 seed, Anhelina Kalinina (6-4, 7-5).

Clara Burel (44th) also fought hard against the modest 182nd in the world, the Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska (3-6, 6-3, 6-2). The N.1 seed and former world number one, Naomi Osaka, will enter the fray on Wednesday against another Italian, Martina Trevisan.

2024-04-16 20:14:00
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