NOTTINGHAM, Great Britain - Top seed Caroline Garcia powered past British wildcard Maia Lumsden in straight sets to book her second quarterfinal of the year at the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham.

Due to the rainy conditions this week in Nottingham, players found themselves waiting out rain delays and washouts before organizers made the decision to move matches to an indoor hardcourt facility. Originally scheduled on Centre Court, Garcia and Lumsden had to make the switch indoors after a fourth consecutive day of rain.

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Garcia had little trouble with the change of surface and venue in the last round, beating another British wildcard, Naiktha Bains, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. She continued her fine form in the second round against Lumsden, needing just 53 minutes to score a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

No.280-ranked Lumsden was the last British woman standing out of the six that started in Nottingham, after Harriet Dart’s 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic earlier in the day. She fought admirably during the opening exchanges against Garcia, even fighting off three break chances to hold for 2-2, but she couldn’t keep pace after the top seed found her rhythm.

Garcia scored the decisive break at 4-2, coming forward and pressing at the net - especially on the returns where she looked to take time away from her opponent. The strategy worked, and the Frenchwoman served out the set with little trouble, sealing it with an ace.  


After dropping the first set and going down an early break in the second set, 1-0, the wind seemed to leave Lumsden’s sails as Garcia continued on a tear. Garcia reeled off the last four games in a row, notching back-to-back breaks to take the match after just 53 minutes.

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The serve proved to be key for Garcia’s dominant victory: she served up five aces across both sets, and won 82% of her first serve points. As a result, Lumsden struggled to find inroads into the Garcia serve, and found herself unable to create any break opportunities.

Up next, Garcia will take on Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse as she seeks a spot in the Nottingham semifinals. It will be the players’ first meeting.

More to follow...