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Paris (AFP) – On the strength of a radiant summer illuminated by a semi-final at the US Open, Caroline Garcia is on the verge of qualifying for the WTA Masters at the time of the tournament in Guadalajara (Mexico), where the last tickets are distributed this week. for the meeting which brings together the eight best players of the season.
Barring very improbable coincidences, Garcia should get his sesame in Mexico for the Masters organized this year in Fort Worth, Texas, in two weeks (October 31-November 7). It would be the second participation of her career, following 2017. She then reached the semi-finals there (beaten by Venus Williams).
Mathematically, only three players, world No.1 Iga Swiatek, winner of Roland-Garros and the US Open in 2022, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, double Grand Slam finalist this season, and American Jessica Pegula, are guaranteed. to compete in the prestigious end-of-year meeting.
And, according to WTA calculations, seventeen players, from the American Coco Gauff to the Russian Liudmila Samsonova, can still claim to get their hands on one of the last five tickets in play.
Garcia is however in a more than favorable situation: the French N.1 approaches the Mexican tournament in sixth position in the Race, the ranking established over the calendar year, with 2,896 points. Or more than 350 ahead – more than a semi-final in Guadalajara – on the first player not qualified at this stage, the Greek Maria Sakkari.
So that concretely, it can be enough for him of a victory (as in Gauff) to ratify his qualification.
Coming Tuesday or Wednesday
For her entry into the second round on Tuesday or Wednesday, the Lyonnaise, exempted from first, will face either the American Ann Li (65th) or the Canadian Rebecca Marino (80th).
It might even find a place in Fort Worth in the event of an entry defeat, depending on the results of its direct competitors (Kasatkina, Kudermatova, Sakkari, Badosa and Bencic in particular).
A qualification for the Masters of Garcia, 29 years old since Sunday, would come to reward his fruitful summer, with 31 successes in 36 matches, between a semi-final at the US Open, his first in Grand Slam, plus three trophies raised on three surfaces different, in Bad Homburg (Germany) on grass in June, Warsaw on clay in July, and Cincinnati on hard in August.
Performances achieved following a delicate first half of the season, which saw her vegetate around 70th place in the world, bothered by her left foot (at the level of the aponeurosis).
“There were so many moments of doubt following Miami (in March). I mightn’t get out of my foot injuries… (When) following ten days on crutches, you realize that you don’t you can’t walk anymore, you doubt a lot. But I was well surrounded to take things step by step”, explained from New York in September Garcia, now trained by Bertrand Perret and no longer by his father, since the last off-season.
Since her thundering run at the US Open, the former world No.4 (end of 2018) has re-established herself in the top 10. But she hasn’t won a match since, beaten at the start of Tokyo (by Zhang) in September and San Diego (via Collins) last week.
© 2022 AFP
