Caroline Garcia produced a brilliant display to knock out top seed Karolina Pliskova 6-1 7-6(2) at the 2020 US Open.
The Frenchwoman, 26, is one of the most talented players on the WTA tour. She can beat virtually anyone when she is at her best because she can hit winners from anywhere on the court.
Unquestionably, today was one of Garcia’s best days. She hit 30 winners and only dropped serve once as she outclassed one of the best players in the world.
“I’m very happy with my match today,” Garcia said in her on-court interview. “I had to play a good match because she’s a top player. Even though it wasn’t a great day for her, she gave everything.”
She continued, “I knew I had to go for it and believe and be very aggressive and that’s what I did very well, especially in the first set. The second set was tighter but I stayed calm and got over the line.”
Garcia makes spectacular start
Caroline Garcia made a fantastic start to the match. She held serve in style. Then she unfurled three superb forehand winners to earn an immediate break.
Unsurprisingly, the Frenchwoman could not sustain that level for long. She struggled a bit in her next service game but fought off a couple of break points and secured an important hold.
Even though she was already 3-0 in front, Garcia continued to attack. She unleashed two glorious winners – one backhand and one forehand – en route to an emphatic second break.
Over the course of the next three games, Pliskova worked her way into the contest. She held serve for the first time and pushed the Frenchwoman all the way in both of her service games. However, it was not enough to alter the outcome as Garcia wrapped up the set 6-1.
Pliskova fights back but it is not enough
Pliskova made the worst possible start to the second set. She made three double faults in the opening game to gift Garcia an early break.
The Frenchwoman then consolidated her advantage by holding serve. During the game, the Czech revealed her frustration. When Garcia dealt brilliantly with an excellent return and then hit a superb passing shot winner past her seconds later, Pliskova angrily slammed her racket into the court.
That release of emotion seemed to have a positive effect on the Czech. She looked sharper in her next two service games and hit a few high-class winners. Despite this improvement, the Frenchwoman forged a 4-2 lead.
At this stage, Pliskova knew she had to raise her game. She produced a superb three-point sequence to break Garcia and level the score at 4-4. She won the first point with a fantastic lob, the second with a huge forehand and the third with a powerful return.
Next, the Czech held to love to put pressure on Garcia. Then she earned two break points on the Frenchwoman’s serve.
However, just when it looked like the match was about to go into a decider, there was another plot twist. Pliskova wasted the first break point with a wild forehand. Then Garcia saved the second with a big serve and huge forehand.
Suddenly, the opportunity for the Czech to level the match had gone. And when the set went to a tie-break, the Frenchwoman rose to the occasion.
Garcia set the tone immediately by crunching a forehand winner. Then she won five points in a row from 2-2 to seize the tie-break. At the moment of victory, she let out a cry of delight. And the Frenchwoman will now play 28th seed Jennifer Brady in the third round.
Rybakina, Vondrousova and Riske crash out
Elena Rybakina, 21, is the 11th seed and one of the brightest prospects on the WTA tour. But she endured a chastening experience on court six as she was emphatically beaten 7-5 6-1 by experienced American Shelby Rogers. The victor’s reward will be last-32 clash with either Dayana Yastremska or Madison Brengle.
Marketa Vondrousova has had a tough time recently. She returned to tennis in January after six months out following surgery on her left wrist and struggled to find form. Then the tour was shut down for six months and she had to start again.
The Czech played in a few exhibition tournaments in June and July and managed to win a few matches. Then she returned to competitive action and lost in the first round at Palermo Ladies Open and the Western & Southern Open.
When you consider all of this, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the 12th seed lost to a dangerous player like Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The Belarussian stunned Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon and she is capable of high-class tennis. However, the thing that will disappoint Vondrousova most is the scoreline: 6-1 6-2. Sasnovich will face Yulia Putintseva in round three. The Kazakhstani beat Vera Lapko 6-3 6-3.
In another big shock, 13th seed Alison Riske was hammered 6-0 6-3 by World No.128 Ann Li. It is comfortably the most significant win of the young American’s career so far, and her reward will be a third-round meeting with three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.
