Caroline Garcia is Elisabetta Cocciaretto’s bete noire. Before this first round in Rouen, the Italian had lost three times, three times on clay, against the Frenchwoman. A fourth defeat (6-1, 3-6, 7-5) was added on Tuesday evening.
Very disappointed after her defeat (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) against Emma Raducanu on Saturday in the Billie Jean King Cup, Garcia was not far from losing again. She has come a long way. Because after flying through the first round, showing herself to be enterprising and very efficient in serving and returning, the Lyonnaise completely lost the thread.
Her opponent gradually adjusted, served a lot of first serves and played fair to win the second set and lead 5-3 in the last. Her arm shook, Garcia’s just relaxed and the 23rd in the world played four games in a row to reach the second round. She will face her compatriot Diane Parry (49th) or the Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (68th), who face each other on Wednesday.
