Garcia grinds past Witthoeft at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia - No.8 seed Caroline Garcia View Profile sealed her first win of 2018 after a slow start against Carina Witthoeft, dismissing the big-hitting German, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the second round at the Australian Open.
"It's nice to compete and finally start my 2018 season," the relieved Frenchwoman said during her on-court interview.
Forced to retire from her first match of the year at the Brisbane International due to a back injury, Garcia twice found herself down a break to start the match against Witthoeft, who pushed then-No.1 Angelique Kerber to three sets last year at this very tournament.
"I was not very happy with my first set but I kept fighting and tried to find a solution," she explained on Margaret Court Arena. "She was serving well, but at 5-3, I arrived and did better, and that made the second start easier at the beginning."
"I wasn't very happy with my first set - but I kept fighting and tried to find a solution."
The secret is persistence for @CaroGarcia...#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LL4SLuaTWE— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2018
Garcia promptly turned that deficit into a commanding lead, winning nine straight games to force the German to face down a potential second set bagel. Undeterred, she kept the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and China Open champion honest in the end, saving a match point with a searing forehand up the line.
"I couldn't do much about the passing shot on match point, but I tried to stay calm and keep going."
The 24-year-old saved a break point with some impressive serving and ultimately clinched victory on her 33rd winner of the 90 minute match to advance into the second round. In all, she maintained a +4 differential in winners to unforced errors, and struck a solid five aces while maintaining a 76% first serve percentage.
Standing between Garcia and her third round of 32 appearance in the last four years is Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova View Profile , who won her first main draw match in Melbourne over Kurumi Nara, 7-5, 6-4.