‘Bad momentum’ – Disappointed Garcia self-critical after shock defeat to Blinkova

France’s Caroline Garcia had plenty of harsh words for herself after losing to Anna Blinkova in the second round of Roland-Garros.

Blinkova took her ninth match point to secure the upset against the fifth seed, who was very disappointed in her post-match press conference – particularly as she was a set and a break up.

“From that point on, I felt much more tense, and after the first set, I was actually very good on my game choices,” she said in French, translated by the tournament services. “My ball would go faster. I would hit harder.

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“Then I was passive. I let her take the upper hand. I had a wait-and-see approach. I couldn’t read the court anymore, I couldn’t walk around in the court anymore, and I couldn’t get out of this bad momentum.

“I didn’t manage to have the upper hand through and through.”

Garcia: I know what I have to do, but I get afraid

Garcia has reflected many times on her failures to capitalise in the big moments, but her win in the 2022 WTA Finals had led some to wonder if she had finally got what it takes to win the majors. Falling at the second hurdle of her home Slam suggests that there might still be some tweaks required.

“I can’t explain it right now, as I couldn’t explain it live on court. These things have happened in the past already.

“I know what I have to do on court, but then I get afraid that I will not make it, that I will fail in unrolling my game plan.

“I start to make mistakes. Then my balls are too short on my opponent. It’s tough to lose after playing like this.”

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Pushed to expand a little further on those fears, she responded: “Had I needed more evidence [about my ability to win] after last year’s season, I shouldn’t need anymore. What I mean is that I could have winners, and on the flip side I can also make unforced errors.

“Sometimes when I’m on the court, I don’t dare go to the net. I don’t dare pummel through my balls. And the greatest regrets I have is that I don’t up my game when I should.

“When I won in the past, then I would actually go to the net, I would actually take the balls even when they are short. That means that I actually seized all the opportunities when they were there.

“But this is not the case here. My backhand is bad. Everything is bad. And this is what is tough to digest right now.”

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