Wimbledon – Single ladies: Offensive and full of confidence, Garcia outclasses Raducanu in the 2nd round

It’s not every day that a Frenchwoman has the honors of the Center Court and a fortiori that she wins there. So let’s not hide our pleasure in view of what has been happening since Tuesday evening at Wimbledon: the day after Harmony Tan’s historic success against Serena Williams, Caroline Garcia also produced a magnificent performance on the most prestigious court in the world – she was discovering – beating young local heroine Emma Raducanu (seeded No. 10), 6-3, 6-3, on Wednesday.

Certainly, we know the difficulties crossed by the Briton since her almost surreal coronation at the US Open last year. But all the same. Going to beat a headliner at home, in such a context, necessarily requires a level of mastery and self-confidence that Caroline Garcia, resuscitated and (for the moment) unstoppable since her title in Bad Hombourg last week, has largely achieved.

Because beyond the raw result, the Lyonnaise (55th in the world) added the way, much more convincing than during her 1st round against the wild-card Yuriko Miyazaki (204th in the world), another Briton, who had gone to two game points. This time, “Caro”, more physically rested – despite his two thighs still strapped – delivered a real lawn tennis performance punctuated by 24 winning strokes and 20 net climbs (including 16 winners), against only two for his opponent who spent most of their game defensively.

Despite a break (or rather a break) conceded in each of two sets, Garcia has always been ahead in the score and has never really shaken. “I had prepared well for this match and I am very satisfied with my level today, she said on the court after her success. I had a great time playing on Center Court for the first time. It’s a victory that will remain etched in my memory.”

The French, who had not reached the third round of a Grand Slam since the US Open 2020, will face the Chinese Shuai Zhang at this stage. In a part of the table now rid of its two strongest seeds, Emma Raducanu therefore but also Danielle Collis (exit from the 1st round), this Caroline Garcia really has the means to equal or even beat her best result at Wimbledon, namely a round of 16 reached in 2017. But this is obviously the last thing she must have in mind before tackling the rest of her tournament.