Towel on the shoulders and head down, Bianca Andreescu left the Louis Armstrong court groggy. The Canadian was in a ring too big for her and had spent 1h30 on the ropes taking the hits until the technical knockout. Friday night at Flushing Meadows, Caroline Garcia was far too strong (6-3, 6-2) for the one who lifted the trophy here three years ago.
With the exception of two badly mastered engagements, one in each set, the Frenchwoman was impeccable, carried as for three months by an aggressive game which allowed her to win her eleventh consecutive match, her 29th out of the last 33, and to qualify for the round of 16 of the US Open for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old has now reached week two in all four Grand Slam tournaments.
A show of aggression and power
Inhabited by absolute confidence in her game, Garcia immediately took Andreescu by the throat. Despite the wind blowing on the Armstrong, on a cool evening in Flushing, she directed the rallies perfectly with her forehand and quickly cracked her opponent’s defense. Opposite, the 48th in the world tried to disrupt it by varying the trajectories – slices, rounded balls, flat strikes – and the zones, but apart from a few rare precipitations, here and there, the Lyonnaise had the answer to everything.
Two winners – a forehand along a magnificent line then a backhand return – gave him the first break. Her four unforced errors and the break on the next game did not distract her for a moment from her ultra-offensive tennis: she again stole Andreescu’s commitment thanks to three winning forehands and concluded the first set thanks to a winning service. on second ball.
Riske in the next round, a player she never beat
Increasingly at ease, Garcia thrashed the Canadian who had to pull off a feat on practically every rally to win a single point. Winning returns or follow-ups at the net, slap volleys, deep and rounded forehands or half-volleys with incredible dexterity: it was a demonstration of power. In total, 31 winning strokes for 20 unforced errors when Andreescu, reduced to a role of extra, was content with 11 winning strokes and 13 unforced errors.
Dazed, the 22-year-old saved two first match points at 5-1, but it was only a postponement: Garcia concluded a few moments later without ever having been jostled. In the round of 16 on Sunday, she will challenge American Alison Riske. Winning outing in her third round against the Chinese Wang Xiyu (6-4, 3-6, 6-4), the 29th in the world leads 3-0 against the French. But this appears today in the form of his life.
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