Caroline Garcia on daunting task of facing Iga Swiatek at WTA Finals - ‘She's a challenge just by herself’
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 30/10/2022 at 09:59 GMT
Iga Swiatek is targeting more glory when the WTA Finals begin in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday. Caroline Garcia will make her first appearance at the finals since 2017, and has been drawn in the Tracy Austin Group alongside the world No. 1. She begins the tournament with a match against Coco Gauff in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time.
Swiatek: I'll be thinking about 2022 season for rest of my life
The WTA Finals begin on Monday, pitting together the top eight singles players and doubles teams, and Iga Swiatek is the name on everyone’s lips after another stellar season.
Swiatek most recently won her eighth title of the year at San Diego and secured two more Grand Slam titles after tasting success in the French Open and US Open.
The WTA Finals is a round-robin event, meaning all of the remaining seven players will have a chance to take on Swiatek, including Caroline Garcia, who is the only competitor to have recorded a victory over the 21-year-old this season.
"WTA Finals is a challenge, but she's a challenge just by herself,” said Garcia, in quotes published by the WTA Tour.
“She lost very few matches. I won against her in Poland, but it was very different condition, clay court. She was playing in Poland, and it was probably her first time.
"It's a whole different match for sure. It's group stage as well. I will try to play my game, be aggressive. That's my way of playing, and that's probably the best chance I have to beat her."
Garcia begins with a match against Coco Gauff on Wednesday, and the No. 6 seed feels she has benefited from an extended period of rest after San Diego.
"I feel like the conditions were totally different [from San Diego], and right now, I need to adjust to the ball basically again because we play with US Open Regular Duty. I have to just put more energy in that and in controlling the ball," she explained.
"But the preparation went well. We did everything we planned. I was able to recover. I felt really sore after these two tournaments. I feel more fresh right now, and that's all that matters because I'm able to give my all during matches."
This is Garcia’s first appearance at the finals since 2017 after making impressive progress this campaign, reaching her first major semi-final at the US Open and securing that aforementioned victory over Swiatek at the Poland Open.
"I would have preferred to come back a little bit earlier, but I'm already glad I'm coming back and I get to live this experience again,” she added.
“It's a gift after a very tough and very good season, and really proud of the work.
"Yes, Singapore was a long time ago. I qualified last-minute and very unexpected. I'm not going to say this one was expected. It's kind of the same situation."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement