Favorite, but beaten. Fifth player in the world, Caroline Garcia was dominated on Sunday by Croatian Donna Vekic (31st) in the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico (6-4, 3-6, 7-5), in 2h29. After 2015, the French suffered a second defeat in the final of this event, of which she has always reached at least the semi-finals in four participations.
The past week, just before the meeting in Indian Wells from March 8 to 19, has however given enough to restore some of Garcia’s confidence, even if the opposition was not very strong with five players from the top 50: With the exception of her backhand in the final, she won all of her matches in straight sets and regained her serve efficiency.
A start to the season below its ambitions
The 29-year-old’s start to the season undermined her confidence, boosted by an impressive second half of the 2022 season with two titles (Cincinnati, Masters) and a semi-final at the US Open.
She had started the year 2023 with an elimination in the round of 16 of the Australian Open then a final lost at home in Lyon, and remained on disappointing performances in Doha (defeat in the quarter-finals) and especially Dubai (elimination upon entering the race).