Driven by a desire and an irresistible momentum, imperial on the court, Caroline Garcia offered herself a first final of the WTA Masters for her second participation, by beating 6-3, 6-2 the Greek Maria Sakkari, Sunday in Fort Worth ( Texas). The 29-year-old Lyonnaise, world number 6, is already doing better than in 2017, when she failed in the semi-finals of the prestigious event, then defeated by the American Venus Williams.
The final victory, only objective
And it is clear that she has found the mental resources to pursue her dream: to become the second Frenchwoman to add her name to the list, after Amélie Mauresmo, who was crowned at the expense of Mary Pierce in 2005, during a final 100% tricolor from another time.
After a solid start against Coco Gauff for her first group match, Garcia, while sometimes playing very good tennis, then fell against world No.1 Iga Swiatek. She could also find the Polish in the final, winner of eight titles gleaned in 2022 including Roland-Garros and the US Open, who will first have to get rid of Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world number 7, in the evening.
Most successful match
Against Sakkari, world number 5, against whom she had a slight psychological advantage for having beaten her in their two previous confrontations, Garcia had her most successful match of the tournament.
Betting more than ever on her aggressiveness, she constantly put her opponent on the back foot and often at fault. The only time the Frenchman sinned was to confirm her first break in the first set. For the rest he was a lone rider. Despite a 2h27 struggle as physically and mentally demanding the day before to beat Kasatkina, “Caro” then showed no signs of fatigue.
Dreaming of the title
For “Caro”, being in the final of the Masters is an enormous satisfaction after six difficult last weeks, victim of a phenomenon of decompensation after a flamboyant summer, which had seen her win three titles (Bad Homburg, Warsaw, Cincinnati), before to reach the semis at the US Open.
A rebirth, after more than four years without brilliance, between crisis of confidence, tennis in distress and recurring physical worries, which she managed to overcome this year, in a spectacular way, thanks to her work carried out with Bertrand Perret, dominating in her success and his rise from 75th to 6th place in the world. In the heart of a rodeo of strong emotions in Texas, she can, at the cost of a last effort, finish her flight on a piece of paradise.