US Open: Caroline Garcia swept away in the semi-finals by Ons Jabeur

French Caroline Garcia screams after losing a point in the semi-final between her and Tunisian Ons Jabeur at the US Open, in New York, September 9, 2022. JOHN MINCHILLO / AP Caroline Garcia, 17th world, seemed petrified by the stakes of a first Grand Slam semi-final on Thursday at the US Open, where she was swept away by Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5th) 6-1, 6-3 in 1 h 6. Jabeur (28) will play his second major final in a row after that of Wimbledon. It will be against the Polish Iga Swiatek (world No. 1), faller of Aryna Sabalenka. The world No. 1 qualified for her third of a Grand Slam tournament, overthrowing Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (6th) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. ” It’s awesome ! After Wimbledon [défaite en finale contre Elena Rybakina], I was under a lot of pressure and I’m really relieved to have confirmed my results. The season on hard courts had started a little badly, but I am very happy to be in the final,” commented the Tunisian. Read also: Article reserved for our US Open subscribers: Caroline Garcia’s American nights Garcia appeared very tense as soon as she entered the Arthur-Ashe court, contrary to what she had let appear during previous rounds. And she never broke free. Holder of the aces record for the season (316 before the semi-final) and for the tournament this year (30 before the semi-final), she managed only 2 (all in the second set), against 8 for Jabeur. And she committed a total of 23 unforced errors (against 15 for her opponent). The Lyonnaise missed the first innings by completely missing her first game of service (four unforced errors) to concede the break. On the contrary, Jabeur started with two aces and won his first service game to lead 2-0. “It went wrong, the start of the match was not in my favor. One or two points where I frankly didn’t go there, like still a lot of points afterwards. The arm did not pass as well, and with my style of play, it sometimes made me miss my target: the ball escaped a little or took the net, ”observed Caroline Garcia. Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia hug after the semi-final of the US Open in New York, September 9, 2022. ELSA / AFP The Frenchwoman then won her first and only game of the round, that she offered to her opponent on a 14th unforced error (against 5 for the Tunisian in this first set). Garcia regains his best ranking since 2018 In the second set, Jabeur made the break to lead 3-1 and then kept his advantage until the end. Despite his father’s injunctions – “Put the pressure on! motioning him forward into the court – Garcia failed to put his game in place. This game which had allowed her to line up a series of 13 successive victories since the first round of qualifying in Cincinnati, where she won the 10th title of her career, just before coming to New York. Still ranked 79th in the world in May, the former No. 4 will return to the top 10 on Monday, in 10th place. A first since October 2018. Caroline Garcia sees the progress made: “It’s a half of a Grand Slam and a Masters 1000 won in Cincinnati. An increasingly clear game in my head, which is effective when I manage to let my arm pass and I am physically well. There is still plenty of room for improvement in many areas. Today there was no long line backhand. The long line forehand didn’t work either! It’s also a lot of enthusiasm for the future. “Read also: US Open: for Justine Hénin, “Caroline Garcia is in her place today” “I knew that she was playing incredible tennis and that she was putting a lot of pressure on her opponent. It wasn’t easy for me, but I was so well prepared mentally,” explained Jabeur. As for the rest, the Tunisian admitted with a smile that she hoped that Swiatek and Sabalenka would tear each other apart “for five hours”. The World with AFP