Caroline Garcia finds 'sweet spot' to reach quarters, Nick Kyrgios-Daniil Medvedev box contrasts - US Open diary
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 05/09/2022 at 07:05 GMT
Ranked as low as No. 75 in the world three months ago, Caroline Garcia has been in blistering form this summer and has now reached the US Open quarter-final - her best performance at a Grand Slam since 2017 - after beating USA's Alison Riske-Amritraj in straight sets on Sunday. “It’s long; a lot of things have happened in the last four or five years. It feels like ages ago,” she told Eurosport.
US Open highlights: Kyrgios outclasses Medvedev, Jabeur and Tomljanovic power through
‘It feels like ages ago’
It has taken Caroline Garcia five years and three months to find her way back to a Grand Slam quarter-final and the Frenchwoman has admittedly gone through a lot during that period.
“It’s long; a lot of things have happened in the last four or five years. It feels like ages ago,” Garcia says with a grin, reflecting back on her journey in a conversation with Eurosport in New York.
“Last couple of years especially have been tough, but we managed to keep fighting and keep improving, believing, staying positive and I’m very glad the team was strong behind me to help me through this tough time.”
A former world No. 4, Garcia was ranked as low as 75 three months ago, but caught fire the week before Wimbledon, clinching 30 victories from her next 34 matches.
After claiming the title in Cincinnati, as a qualifier, Garcia is now through to the US Open quarter-finals – her first appearance at that stage at a major since Roland Garros 2017.
She’s on a 12-match winning streak and seems to have found her sweet spot of being ultra-aggressive with her shots, and feeling confident, even when she misses.
Garcia has hit 116 winners so far this fortnight in New York, which is the highest tally among the 128-player women’s singles field. She is averaging 29 winners per match and is hitting a winner every 2.7 minutes on average.
More than anything, the 28-year-old looks like she is having a blast on the court and she has an explanation for that.
“I know the success is coming for me if I go forward, if I go for my shots, and that’s obviously the game style I enjoy the most and allows me to have fun. And obviously to win matches brings more joy at the end of the day,” she said.
Garcia spent most of her life being told by coaches she was too aggressive on court and that she had to play some higher percentage tennis. She ended up being tentative with her shot-making, and feeling lost somewhere in the middle between staying safe and taking risks.
Her recent partnership with French coach Bertrand Perret seems to have solved that issue as he gave Garcia the green light to go for broke on her shots, and that freedom has certainly paid off.
“It was really a big coincidence that he pushed me to be more aggressive than I used to be,” said Garcia of Perret, who is a former coach of Ons Jabeur.
“He was believing in my game style that I played for many years with my dad coaching me. It was very important he was always very positive when I was making mistakes at the beginning, trying to find my rhythm. I know that even when I’m stressed, if it’s not working well, I have to keep going and it’s that way I’m going to improve during the match; that’s what I did very well today (against Alison Riske-Amritraj).
“It’s giving me a lot of confidence and I know which way is clear and I’ll try to follow it.”
A tale of two boxes
Is there anyone as entertaining and informative as the legendary Mary Carillo on a match call?
The former player and award-winning commentator took us on a roller coaster ride on the World Feed commentary – alongside Jimmy Arias – for the fourth round heavyweight bout between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios.
Carillo’s attention to detail is second to none, and her one-liners are hilarious.
“Stand your ground, Eva,” she said on air as Kyrgios was berating umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore about how early she was starting the shot clock between his points.
When someone in the stands made an impressive catch off a stray ball, Carillo was quick to note that it was Lindsay Davenport’s teenage son Jagger, and went on to explain how big of a Kyrgios fan he was and how he asked his mom for a seat to watch the Australian take on Medvedev.
Carillo also noted how having a woman in the chair to officiate a Kyrgios match was probably a good idea, because it could potentially force him to be less crude in his language during his frequent arguments with the umpire.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/09/05/3446882-70322808-2560-1440.jpg)
Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts against Daniil Medvedev during their Men's Singles Fourth Round match on Day Seven of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2022
Image credit: Getty Images
Carillo and Arias enjoyed pointing out the big contrast between Kyrgios’ packed player box compared to Medvedev’s virtually empty one.
Kyrgios constantly needs vocal encouragement from his box and often yells at his team if they’re not being as supportive as he wants them to be. At one moment he angrily demanded they tell him where to serve and you could hear them exaggeratedly pumping him up on every single point.
You could see Thanasi Kokkinakis trying to keep a straight face as his friend and doubles partner Kyrgios shouted towards him and others in the box.
Meanwhile on Medvedev’s end, his coach Gilles Cervara sat there stoically – for most of the match – with just one other person in the row behind him in the box.
“I like to keep my box with just close people I work with every day. It's not really my thing to just pack the box, make it as big as possible just for the TV,” Medvedev said in New York earlier this week.
Emotional moment of the day
After midnight and under the lights of Arthur Ashe stadium, Tunisian world No. 5 Ons Jabeur put in a flashy 7-6(1) 6-4 performance to post her first win in four meetings with Veronika Kudermetova.
In her on-court interview with Rennae Stubbs, Jabeur dedicated her victory to her late grandmother and said: “I lost my grandma a few years ago and for some reason this week I’m thinking about her a lot.
“So today I was asking for her help and support. She always supported me and was here. I’m very sad that she’s missing this.”
Ruud, Moutet offer up trick-shot special
In a four-set tussle on Arthur Ashe stadium, No. 5 seed Casper Ruud and lucky loser Corentin Moutet were at their flashiest best, hitting not one, not two, but three around-the-net winners.
First, Ruud pulled off this stunner off of a Moutet drop shot in the fourth game of the contest.
The Norwegian struck another one for a slick backhand return winner early in the third set.
It was then Moutet’s turn to go around the net, feathering this backhand dropper at 2-all in the third.
“I don't think I'm the guy to talk too much about trick shots because I don't have too many of them myself. I'm not the most flashy player,” confessed Ruud.
“It's fun when you can hit a shot around the net. It's something you don't do every day, so it's fun they went down the line and inside. That was fun.
“I think honestly the return I hit around the net was more impressive than the forehand around the net, even though the forehand was on quite an important point when I broke him the first time.
“I enjoyed both of them, of course, but a return from behind in the court around the net is not easy. Might be the last one I ever hit around the net, so I'll enjoy it today.”
Tweets of the day
Stats of the day
1 – Ons Jabeur is the first African woman to reach the US Open quarter-finals since Amanda Coetzer in 1998.
1 – Daniil Medvedev will lose his No.1 ranking following the US Open and will be replaced by either Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud.
2 – Ruud is through to the second Grand Slam quarter-final of his career and first in New York, courtesy of a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 win over Moutet.
2 – Karen Khachanov claimed just his second win from his last 12 matches against top-15 players. The Russian scooped a gritty five-set win over two-time semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the third Grand Slam quarter-final of his career and first in New York.
5 – Matteo Berrettini is through to a fifth consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final thanks to a 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday.
7 – Berrettini now owns a 7-1 win-loss record in five-set matches throughout his career.
12 – Garcia has picked up a 12th consecutive win – a streak that started in Cincinnati qualifying – to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final since Roland Garros 2017, and second of her career overall.
18 – At 18 years of age, Gauff is the youngest US Open women’s quarter-finalist since Melanie Oudin in 2009.
83 – Berrettini has hit a total of 83 forehand winners through four matches so far this tournament compared to just 8 off his backhand.
Quotes of the day
“I was just really sick of letting people down. I don't know, just feeling like that. I feel like I'm making people proud now. I feel like there's not as much negative things being said about me. I just wanted to turn the narrative around almost. That's basically it. I just was feeling so depressed all the time, so feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to change that.”
-- Nick Kyrgios on the secret to his success these past few months.
“I'm trying to look good here, but I'm disappointed. Not going to cry in the room, but I'm a little bit disappointed. For few days I'm going to be just a little bit sad, looking at my phone, my laptop or watching some series.”
-- An honest moment from Daniil Medvedev following his loss to Kyrgios.
“Caro, I am afraid to get too close to you because of how red-hot you are right now.”
-- On-court interviewer Blair Henley is spot on as she talks to Garcia after the Frenchwoman’s 6-4, 6-1 victory over Riske-Amritraj on Sunday.
“Here I can't hear myself scream. Makes me want to do it more. I think I'm feeding off the momentum a lot. I enjoy it. I think New York is bringing out a side of me that I haven't had since I was 15, so it's nice.”
-- Gauff on why she has been more animated and fired up than usual during her matches at this US Open.
“I feel like a wall out there, she was running me so much. It's like, You can't get past me today. CG1s.”
-- Gauff with a casual reference to her new signature shoe, the CG1.
- - -
Stream the 2022 Laver Cup exclusively live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk
Scan me
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement