At Wimbledon,
For the third time in three games, Caroline Garcia, fifth player in the WTA, dominates the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, currently 95th in the world. She knew how to reverse a very compromised scenario. After a badly negotiated first set and lost 6-3 (12 unforced errors), the winner of the last Masters has regained regularity and her service, while making her attacking game speak. In the end, she won in three sets and after a super tie-break (3-6, 6-4, 7-6). “There were a lot of emotions coming out of the court. It doesn’t take much for me to be moved at the moment, smiled the Lyonnaise at a press conference. When you win 7-6 in the 3rd it feels good because I have lost a lot of close matches since the start of the year. I’m happy to stay in the tournament.”
Garcia did not let go of his break lead in the second set and showed composure in the deciding set against a good-day Fernandez. “I served better from the second set, she analyzes. I was aggressive in the game. It’s part of my style of play and my personality. I made two big mistakes at the start of the super tie-break. These are small mistakes I’ve been making lately but I kept pushing forward and it paid off. And on grass, it’s even more the style of play to develop.
Due to rainy weather conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, the French number 1 was on forced rest. A blessing in disguise for his sore right shoulder: “The last two days I had trained for about twenty minutes because of the rain. It was good for my shoulder but suddenly I’m playing tomorrow.” The leader of French tennis will face in the 3rd round Marie Bouskova, 33rd in the world, whom she has never beaten in two confrontations. The Czech had dominated the 5th world last year in the round of 16. “She counters well. She passed me well when I played against her. And I hadn’t been able to take my break opportunities well. I had trouble making the difference from the baseline and I rushed. And when we played last year here, I was a little at the end of my rope. It’s up to me to be aggressive by adapting to my opponent,” she says.
