Caroline Garcia really couldn’t do anything. The French tenniswoman, 17th player in the world, seemed petrified by the stakes of a first Grand Slam semi-final on Thursday at the US Open since she was swept away by the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5th) 6-1, 6-3 in just 1:06. The 28-year-old Frenchwoman, who was playing her first career semi-final of a Grand Slam tournament, never managed to release the pressure or set up her aggressive game.
Contrary to her brilliant start to the tournament, Caroline Garcia appeared very tense as soon as she entered the Arthur Ashe court. She never freed herself. Holder of the aces record for the season (316 before the half) and for the tournament this year (30 before the half) she managed only 2 (all in the second set) against 8 for Jabeur. She has, in passing, committed a total of 23 unforced errors (against 15 for her opponent).
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The Lyonnaise missed the first innings by completely missing her first game of service (four unforced errors) to concede the break. On the contrary, Jabeur started with two aces and won his first service game to lead 2-0. The French then won her first and only game of the set, which she offered to her opponent on a 14th unforced error (against 5 for the Tunisian in this first set). In the second set, Jabeur scored the break to lead 3-1 and then kept his advantage until the end. Despite his father’s injunctions to “put the pressure on” by beckoning him to move forward in the court, Garcia failed to put his game in place.
Ranked 79th in the world in May, former number 4 Caroline Garcia will return to the Top10 on Monday in 10th place thanks in particular to her series of 13 consecutive victories since the first round of qualifying in Cincinnati where she won the 10th title of her career just before to come to New York.
For his part, Jabeur (28) will play his second major final in a row after that of Wimbledon. It will be against the Polish Iga Swiatek (N.1 world) or the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (6th). “It’s awesome ! After Wimbledon (defeat in the final against Elena Rybakina, editor’s note), I was under a lot of pressure and I’m really relieved to have confirmed my results. The hard court season had started a bit badly, but I’m very happy to be in the final.”commented the Tunisian. “I knew she [Caroline Garcia] played incredible tennis and put a lot of pressure on her opponent. It was not easy for me, but I was so well prepared mentally…”explained Jabeur.