Caroline Garcia fought.
Against her game, against herself.
Nothing was working and the Lyonnaise, who was not far from a hold-up, ended up giving in to the Romanian Sorana Cirstea, once again missing the quarterfinal meeting in Indian Wells on Tuesday evening.
The Frenchwoman (5th in the world), who could well have lost in two sets, maintained the hope of a surprising reversal before losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in 2h23, opening the door to the regret.
"
It was a difficult match, I didn't have good feelings, I couldn't find my rhythm, I didn't adapt to the conditions, nor to what it offered me," said the winner
. of the Masters at the end of last year.
“
There are days like this when things go less well.
You have to try to find solutions, to keep fighting, to stay positive, that's what I tried to do... But it's difficult after so much effort, to have almost tipped the match, only to eventually lose it
,” she added.
Faced with an opponent whom she had nevertheless beaten twice in as many confrontations, the 29-year-old Lyonnaise was constantly in reaction and not in action, in this match played at night and in relatively cool weather, suffering most of the Cirstea's aggressiveness.
"
She passed me super well every time I went to the net, I felt like I was being used as a target
," blew Garcia, who indeed tried to also go forward to force things. .
The 32-year-old Romanian, who will challenge the world No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek, logically pocketed the first set by jostling the Lyonnaise.
Then she led 4-2 in the second.
Moment at which the excitement has somewhat won, Garcia finally letting go of his shots to align four games and equalize.
Retain the "state of mind"
Match relaunched, we said to ourselves.
Except that Garcia fell back into her faults of the day, chaining too many unforced errors.
Led 3-0, she was again suspended.
Yet she was able to find the resources to unbreak twice and come back to 5-5, Cirstea showing signs of cracking.
However, the suspense did not have time to last, because the Romanian went on the attack and was finally able to conclude in 2h23, after having again taken the service of the Frenchwoman who ended up giving up.
“
There are days when you see things clearly, when you manage to concentrate, when you have a good feeling... And there are days when you don't.
This is the life of an athlete.
You have to know how to manage these moments when you are less well in order to move forward, but today, unfortunately, for a few points, it has not happened,
”she still lamented.
Garcia, who was the only French survivor in the tournament, was one of the title contenders, in view of her second half of last season when she also reached the last four of the US Open after winning the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
But at the start of the year, it is struggling to regain this level of excellence, despite losing two finals in Lyon and Monterrey in February.
Since it is nevertheless necessary to retain a little positive, Garcia underlines “
the displayed state of mind, to find solutions with the means at hand
”.
“
I haven't always done it well in the past.
So it will give me confidence, if I find myself in other situations of this type
”.
She has a week to recharge some batteries before defending her chances at the Miami Open.