If Caroline Garcia is particularly satisfied with her victory against Cori Gauff, it is because this quarter-final was more than just a match: an experience. Confronting the rising star of American women’s tennis, in the evening session and on the biggest court in Flushing Meadows and on the tennis planet, is no small feat. She passed this test, these tests, with a certain brilliance by winning in two sets (6-3, 6-4) and without ever departing from the essential lucidity that this very special context required.
At the start of the day, well before the meeting set around 7 p.m. local time, the number one tricolor slipped onto the gigantic Arthur-Ashe court. “I had been on the court before the first quarter-final, during the warm-up, to feel the atmosphere a bit, because I had not had the opportunity to practice there and I had not seen any game this year,” she confided.
US Open dames
Formidable without being overwhelming: Swiatek, the return of quiet strength
2 HOURS AGO
She was a little disappointed in terms of the atmosphere, but she felt the need to soak up the place itself. “There were no Americans and the atmosphere was not specialcontinues the Lyonnaise. But I wanted to see, it’s a very impressive court, especially with the roof closed. He is huge. That way I was less surprised when I walked in for my match.”
Garcia: “The energy was crazy, my head is buzzing”
We expected it, I was ready
If anything surprised her when she entered the Ashe in the early evening, it was rather… the lack of atmosphere. Let’s say she was pretty calm when Caroline Garcia kicked off the encounter on serve. The gigantic stands of the central Flushing were then not fully furnished and it was far from it. It was only after a few games and several side changes that the stands finally filled up completely. The French then led 4-0 and the public, in addition to being partly absent, was air-conditioned. Coco Gauff was probably hoping for a different atmosphere.
But the feeling of Garcia was not this one. Maybe because she was very alert about it, she found the vibe”a bit unfriendly“. “It wasn’t obviousshe says. We expected it, I was ready, but you never know how bad it’s gonna be. The night session, it moves a lot, there is a lot of noise, basic, and each time she made good points, or that there were important games, there was really an energy that went up.”
The crowd, it’s true, ended up entering their match at the same time as Coco Gauff. A little late and without excess. Honestly, we have known Arthur-Ashe more incandescent than that. But here too, the credit goes in large part to Caroline Garcia. He absolutely had to prevent the public from becoming an actor in the match. Therein lay the danger. And the great merit of the French player will have been to calm each outbreak of fire. His break at the start of the second set weighed heavily because Gauff was never ahead in the score, neither in the first nor in the second set. Eventually, the now US Open semi-finalist has “found it nice“Not much is bothering her at the moment…
A huge point, a last monstrous forehand: Garcia had set the tone for the start
US Open
Nick Kyrgios: Anything other than Grand Slams is a waste of time”
3 HOURS AGO
US Open
Jabeur: “I’m happy to see Caroline back in her place”
4 HOURS AGO