France’s Caroline Garcia has reached her first tournament semi-final since March after beating Victoria Azarenka in straight sets at the Guadalajara Open.
The world No.11 rallied to a 6-3, 6-4, win over the two-time Grand Slam champion. Garcia saved all 11 break points she faced in the match and broke Azarenka once in each set. She has become only the second player from her country to have reached the semi-final stage at five or more WTA 1000 tournaments since the format was introduced in 2009. The first to do so was Marion Bartoli.
“I try to be aggressive, she likes to put pressure … and I try to really use my serve to start the point well, and be inside the court as fast as I can,” wtatennis.com quoted Garcia as saying following the match. “It’s always tricky. She had a lot of break point opportunities, but I served really well at those points, so I guess I have to thank my serve.
“At the beginning of the match, I was a little bit tight, my legs were feeling heavy and everything. I managed to stay calm and try to just move as much as I can and see what I can do.”
The significance of Garcia’s latest win is that it has secured her return to the world’s top 10 next week when the rankings are updated. She has reached the quarter-finals or better in three out of her last four tournaments played. The only exception was at the US Open where she lost in the first round to China’s Wang Yafan.
Awaiting Garcia in the next round will be second seed Maria Sakkari who beat Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-3, 6-4. The Greek has only dropped 17 games in three matches played at the tournament so far. It is the third time in her career that she has reached the last four of a WTA 1000 event without dropping a set after Doha and Indian Wells last year.
“Obviously today, it was a little bit windy, [Arango’s] game was tricky, I never played her,” said Sakkari. “She’s a very talented and promising player. She was playing free and she had nothing to lose, so it’s always tricky to play with someone that feels that way. Credit to her, she played a great match.”
Garcia currently leads Sakkari 3-1 in their head-to-head but lost their most recent match in Doha earlier this year.
In the other section of the draw, Sofia Kenin has continued her recent surge in form with a 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1, win over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez. The 2020 Australian Open champion is bidding to reach her second Tour final within as many weeks after San Diego. She is currently ranked 53rd in the world.
“I’m very proud of myself. It means a lot to me. I’ve been putting in some hard work and it’s paying off, so I’m super proud,” Kenin said during her press conference.
“I’m just going to take one match at a time. But I like my chances (of winning the title). I’m playing some great tennis and looking forward to the next match tomorrow.” She added.
Kenin will play underdog Caroline Dolehide who saved four match points during her 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-3, win over Martina Trevisan.
