By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World No. 23-ranked female tennis player Caroline Garcia pulled off her most impressive win of the Miami Open so far after stunning world No. 23 ranked Coco Gauff- 6.3, 1.6, 6.2- on March 26, 2024, at the Miami Gardens in Florida, USA.
After sweeping her first two opponents in the Round of 64 and 32 stages, Garcia faced a former Grand Slam queen in the Round of 16 but was unfazed, sticking to her game plan in breaking her down with her booming forehand down-the-line strokes.
As soon as her forehand prowess was going in and serving her points, the French ace relied on her weapon and waited for Gauff to counter the shot. However, the American superstar decided to stick with her baseline game.
That move didn’t benefit Gauff as Garcia just pummeled her way in the baseline and schooled Gauff with her high percentage hits, leaving the American in deep trouble entering the second set.
Just when Garcia thought she already figured Gauff out, the experienced American tried to mix things up and targeted her backhand more to lessen her forehand drives.
The result paid off dividends for Gauff as she officially put herself back in the game, equalizing the mano-a-mano at 1-1 after a 6-1 set win.
All hell broke loose in the third and final set as both players unleashed several counter moves but it was Garcia’s baseline consistency that propelled her to an early lead.
Aside from her baseline hits, Garcia also had a more efficient service game in the third set and didn’t commit a single double fault error until the final score was settled.
Gauff attempted to salvage the game when she played a defensive strategy, throwing lobs while waiting for Garcia to commit an unforced error but the French star didn’t fall from the trap and finished the match with back-to-back winners.
