Caroline Garcia booked a spot in the WTA Finals semifinal by beating Daria Kasatkina but it almost never happened.
In the last set, the French player encountered a variety of challenging circumstances, but she showed the fortitude necessary to defeat the Russian in the tiebreak. Garcia was really nervous throughout the match because it was so important for both players:
"It was a very big match, for sure,” Garcia said after the match. “I started the first set okay, but then I got pretty nervous, and kind of had a crisis of panic. I kind of lost my mind a little bit because she’s (Kasatkina) is bringing back a lot of balls and I went for too much."
Garcia's participation in the WTA Finals semifinal is particularly unexpected because she began the year far from her current ranking position. It was, in some ways, the most consistent year of her career, which she hailed as a major accomplishment:
"It’s definitely a great achievement. I was already very proud to be in the top eight and to be able to go through the group, it’s even better.”
“I started (2022) very far from being in the top 10 or top eight, and made my way to it and played a lot of matches. Today it’s one more thing that proves to me my game style is working and I have to keep going that way," concluded Garcia.
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