There will be no first quarter-final at the Australian Open this year for Caroline Garcia. Monday, early afternoon, Melbourne time, the world No. 4 lost in the round of 16 to Poland’s Magda Linette (7-6 [3]6-4 in 1h57), 45th in the WTA, who managed his production better throughout the match.
The last Frenchwoman competing in singles at this Australian Open never found the relaxation that would have allowed her to play her best tennis over time. Despite a good start to the game by the scoreboard (3-0, double break) and vigorous and relentless cheering from a small, enthusiastic group of French supporters, Garcia simply missed his game.
In the previous round, she had already lost the first set, against Laura Siegemund, but managed to reverse the trend. This Monday, in Melbourne, Caroline Garcia has never really mastered anything. She was sorely lacking in precision on her first balls (only 49%, against 68% in the previous round) and committed too many unforced errors (33 in 23 games) to hope to return. After the first three games, Garcia continued to play uptight. Better in the exchange, more anchored in her intentions and her search for zones, Linette managed to face up, waiting for the opponent’s errors and placing a few well-marked arrows.
Magda Linette incredulous
Garcia has, once again in this tournament, managed to save a lot of break points (7 out of 10) but there has always been this impression that she was only postponing the deadline. Fallout of two members of the top 20 in the second and third rounds (Kontaveit then Alexandrova), Magda Linette, whose very first appearance in the second week of Grand Slam, at 30, set the bar even higher to reach the first quarter-final of his career in a Major tournament. She had a hard time realizing, a few moments after her victory: “I don’t believe it, I can’t believe it! I don’t know what happened. »
In the quarter-finals, Magda Linette will face the Czech Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday, who eliminated the Chinese Zhang Shuai (6-0, 6-4). For Caroline Garcia, the next step will take place at the WTA tournament in Lyon, at home, next week. Another world.