“I did a few forehands and a few backhands in my living room at 3am. Muriel Merolle lived like few yellow ball enthusiasts the coronation of Caroline Garcia, on the night of Monday to Tuesday, at the WTA Masters. Trainer of the now world number 4, from 2002 to 2007 at Asul Tennis Villeurbanne (Rhône), she returns to 20 minutes on the most important title (until then) of the career of his ex-protégé. According to Muriel Merolle, “there is not much missing” for the 29-year-old Lyonnaise to go on to conquer a Grand Slam.
How did you feel last night in front of your television, when Caroline Garcia won against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (7-6, 6-4), in the Masters final in Fort Worth (Texas)?
Above all, a lot of joy and pride. I was much more feverish in front of the last decisive pool match against Daria Kasatkina (4-6, 6-1, 7-5). There, it was a little hot on the tie-break but I was rather serene. I expected it to be even more hooked. Caroline deserves to savor this magnificent victory.
Her coronation at the Masters is a first for French women’s tennis since Amelie Mauresmo 17 years ago…
It shows that she marked the history of French tennis thanks to this victory. He still needs a Grand Slam to establish this position a little more, but it’s already huge. To be Top 4 in the world is a lot, and to become the second Frenchwoman to win the Masters is quite exceptional.
Has she always had this swinging side, including when you trained her from age 9 to 14?
No, she had to go get it by drawing on her reserves. The years when it went less well, it frustrated her to see that she couldn’t do what she wanted on the court. The lack of confidence and physicality reached him. There were some frustrating matches to watch because there were a lot of fouls and no fight from him.
The famous prophecy ofAndy Murray in 2011, after Caroline Garcia’s first coup against Maria Sharapova at Roland-Garros (defeat in three sets at 17), is taking shape, isn’t it?
I was in training in Paris that day, and suddenly I received a lot of messages. I never thought that she could be world number one one day. Afterwards, Murray is Murray, he has more tennis knowledge than me, and the news practically proves him right (smile). Yes, she is very close. It deserves its current ranking in view of its end of the season. There are solid players up front so it will depend on how he starts next season in Australia. But anything is possible now.
After his semi-final in September at the US Open, what will he need to win a first Grand Slam?
Above all, she must stay physically fit and keep the pleasure of evolving at this level, and producing the game she produces. She will also need good draws, and as the top seed now, she should be a little better protected. Frankly, he does not miss much to go for a Grand Slam.
That’s what we were already saying in 2017 after his quarter at Roland-Garros and his half at the Masters, right?
She was still young and there were a lot of expectations around her. Caroline is very demanding with herself and she was unable to reproduce her performances on the Asian tour (success in Wuhan and Beijing in 2017). So it frustrated her, and then physical glitches didn’t help her.
How is his game more mature today?
The big difference is that she serves even better and goes to the net more, which allows her to shorten the rallies a bit. She’s also super solid from the baseline. There is very little waste. At the speed it’s going, it’s impressively solid. She worked well physically because she was a bit slow in previous years. She can now express her full potential. And then we feel good about herself, fulfilled and more smiling. She knows what to rely on, and she sees that the way she plays, which is very complete, pays off.
Did schoolgirl Caroline Garcia sometimes mention a Grand Slam or Masters title in training?
(Smile) No, she was rather reserved and discreet, she never rode mechanics. But in a corner of his head, it necessarily trotted. She had very solid working bases and family support. And therefore a clear project, otherwise she would not have played tennis every day. She took correspondence courses quite early. Inevitably, when you start like that, it’s because you want to reach the top level.