Match Points: Caroline Garcia “the best surprise of 2022 and can win a slam in 2023”

For all the exploits of Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur in the WTA Tour in 2022, their achievements were, arguably, to be expected and they duly ended up as No 1 and No 2 in the rankings respectively.

But the performance of Caroline Garcia, who finished the year ranked No 4 having begun it ranked 74, was hailed as the biggest surprise of the year on the women’s side by Simon Cambers, during the latest episode of Match Points.

Cambers said Garcia had found the right mentality to get herself back up toward the very top of the game, thanks to a stunning title win in Cincinnati, a run to the semi-finals of the US Open and then a season-ending win at the WTA Finals.

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Cambers said he had been delighted to see Garcia’s resurgence.

“We’ve all seen her talent from a young age,” he said. “She’s had her highs and lots of lows, I don’t think many people expected her to come back the way she did, finishing No 4.

“I love the way she seemed to get her mentality right, she stands way inside the baseline.”

Bartoli: “Reminds me of someone”

That comment prompted an intervention from Marion Bartoli, the former Wimbledon champion, who knows a thing or two about returning the ball early. “Reminds me of someone,” she said, laughing.

And Cambers said he feels there’s more to come from Garcia next year.

“She had cleared her mind for those few months,” he said. “I’d love to think she can do it again in 2023, because she is capable of winning something big, if she can string it all together for one Grand Slam.”

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