Which is more difficult: The fierce, furious journey to the top -- or trying to stay there?
Caroline Garcia, the 29-year-old from France, has a better understanding of that conundrum than most. Twice, five years apart -- against the great odds of professional tennis -- she willed herself into the Top 10. And now, after winning last year’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth, she will try to defy gravity a little bit longer than last time.
“It’s obviously a new season, and I can keep all the positive of what happen last year, all the improvement I made,” the World No.4 told reporters before this Australian Open began. “Yeah, get experience I got from two years back, from that point, that place, the ranking and everything, to manage everything better and to keep improving.”
More from Day 3:
- Pegula takes down Sasnovich
- Gauff holds off Raducanu
- Slam champions Ostapenko, Krejcikova, Rybakina, Azarenka advance
- With Netflix cameras on her, Pegula shows off her punditry
- Krejcikova healthy and happy again
- Day 3 by the numbers
- Great Escapes 2023: Winning from match point down
On Thursday afternoon at Melbourne Park, Garcia faces Leylah Fernandez in a highly anticipated second-round match in Rod Laver Arena. Fernandez is still only 20 years old, but she, too, knows what it’s like to break through and take a few steps back.
In the wake of her 2021 US Open finals appearance, the Canadian reached as high as No.13. Currently, No. 40, this is a marvelous chance to show that she is, indeed, an elite player.
Australian Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play
Hard to believe, but Monday’s 7-5, 6-2 win over Alize Cornet was her first career victory at the Australian Open. Garcia, by contrast, has won 13 matches here, reaching the fourth round in 2018.
“I see it as a great opportunity, to see where my tennis is at, and to see where I am mentally and physically,” Fernandez said after beating Cornet. “She’s a great tennis player. I feel like she has found her groove once again, and I think it will be an interesting matchup, and I can’t wait to play her.”
The 2022 season was a struggle for Fernandez. She suffered a stress fracture in her foot at Roland Garros, missed all of the grass events and never quite recovered her fitness -- and her confidence. She’s healthy again, coming off a pair of victories in Auckland. She’d like to revert to the form of that 2021 US Open, when she beat three Top 5 players.
“I don’t know what my best level is,” Fernandez said. “I just know I want to improve and I want to get better every day and I want to see what my body and mind can do. I just feel ready for the challenges that’s coming in the next round.”
If aggressive, first-strike tennis is your thing, this should be fun. Both players like to step inside the baseline and swing hard.
Garcia looked sharp in a 6-3, 6-0 first-round victory over Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov. It required only 65 minutes and featured 22 winners, compared to one for Sebov. Last year, ranked No.70, Garcia lost her first-round match to another overlooked qualifier, Hailey Baptiste.
Garcia has that retro look about her. Those three dropped games were her fewest in a major match since 2018 Roland Garros. And, with a win over Fernandez, she could advance to the third round in her third consecutive Grand Slam -- a career first.
“It’s a great second round obviously,” Garcia said. “She did great in the Slams in the past, and she’s very young player, very talented lefty, so you don’t play as much as lefty. Yeah, it’s a good challenge. Try to take the second set of today, a good practice tomorrow, and then just go for it and try to be more aggressive than her.”
Here are some more notable second-round matches on Day 4:
No.2 Ons Jabeur vs. Marketa Vondrousova
Jabeur showed some rust in her opener, needing three sets (one of them a tiebreak) to beat Tamara Zidansek. Vondrousova -- a former finalist at Roland Garros -- also required the maximum, to prevail over Alison Riske-Amritraj. Jabeur holds a 3-1 head-to-head edge, including last year’s three-setter in Stuttgart.
No.5 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Shelby Rogers
Sabalenka began her 2023 season by winning her first four matches in Adelaide -- and the first serve at the Australian Open was an ace. She’s the early Hologic WTA Tour leader, with 39 and counting. Sabalenka defeated Tereza Martincova, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round, while Rogers was a 6-4, 6-3 winner against qualifier Arianne Hartono. The head-to-head is 2-0 for Sabalenka, both last year, in S’Hertogenbosch and Cincinnati; two of those five sets went to a tiebreak.
No.9 Veronika Kudermetova vs. qualifier Katie Volynets
Kudermetova pulled out of the Adelaide semifinals a week ago with a left hip injury but managed to get past Maryna Zanevska in straight sets. Volynets, and American qualifier, defeated Evgeniya Rodina. They’ve never met.
No.19 Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Taylor Townsend
Townsend won her first Grand Slam match in three years -- and the first since she became a mother -- defeating Diane Perry 6-1, 6-1. Alexandrova was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Ysaline Bonaventure. The two have never met.
No.26 Elise Mertens vs. Lauren Davis
Mertens scored a nice three-set victory over two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the first round, while Davis came back to beat Danka Kovinic 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. The two have never met, but this could be interesting. In a span of eight days, Davis went 7-0, including qualifying, to win the title in Hobart. She’s already won nine of 10 matches this year.
Varvara Gracheva vs. qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini
Gracheva, ranked No.97, pulled off the biggest upset on the women’s side so far, beating No.8 seed Daria Kasatkina by the emphatic count of 6-1, 6-1. Stefanini also had a surprising win, over Tatjana Maria, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year. They’ve never met in a main-draw match, but Stefanini has a 2-0 career edge, going back to a 2017 ITF event in Tunisia and 2018 qualifying for Prague.
