Faced with Katie Boulter (154th in the world), Caroline Garcia (5th) had to tear herself away to win 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) and bring the first point to France in qualifying for the final phase of the Billie Jean King Cup against Great Britain on Friday.
Despite the much lesser pedigree of her opponent, Garcia was warned of the ability of the British to transcend themselves in front of their public.
The French however had the immense merit of never giving up, even if she too rarely played at the level that her 5th world rank should allow.
“It was a crazy game. Three hours twenty minutes approximately of match, it is very rare, even in three sets. There were a lot of ups and downs. There were three decisive games, it shows how close the match was, ”commented Garcia after the match.
The players each took the service of the other once in each match and the Frenchwoman undoubtedly took advantage of her superior experience in high-stakes matches to conclude with an ace after 3:26 of play.
Alizé Cornet (70th) will then face Harriet Dart (138th) in the second single.