Caroline Garcia validated her ticket for the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo on Thursday thanks to a convincing victory (6-4, 6-3) against the Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina (28th).

“I try to play my game, be aggressive and move forward” on the court, declared the current world No.10 after the match. “I really want to be positive and as calm as possible, take each match, each point one after the other, and enjoy the last weeks of the season.”

Garcia, who made his entry into the tournament on Thursday, was superior to his opponent of the day in all areas of the game and notably slammed ten aces, including the last on the only match point.

The 29-year-old Frenchwoman has had a disappointing season so far, struggling to regain her brilliant level of 2022, where she won the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, reached the last four of the US Open then triumphed at the Masters at the end of ‘year.

But there has been improvement recently: Garcia reached the semi-finals of the tournament in Guadalajara (Mexico) last week, which allowed her to return to the top 10 and be exempt from the first round in Tokyo this week.

Garcia could meet the Greek Maria Sakkari in the quarters, who had decisively eliminated her (6-3, 6-0) at the gates of the final in Guadalajara and who had won the title in the process.

Full of confidence, the world No.6 also enters the fray in Tokyo later this Thursday against the Japanese Misaki Doi.

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