Tribune News Network
Doha
World No. 5 and 2022 WTA Finals singles champion Caroline Garcia is back in Doha and raring to go. The 29-year-old French player, who has also been excelling at the Grand Slams making it to the quarter-finals and semi-finals, had re-discovered her playing style and since has been all the more effective in the last year. Ahead of her Qatar TotalEnergies Open Round of 16match against Czech Karolina Muchova, the tall Garcia spoke to the media about the tournament and the road ahead for her.
Excerpts.
On being in Doha
I’m very happy to be back in Doha. It’s a very nice tournament. Every time they are treating us very well. I’m very excited. It’s a big tournament. It’s a very strong draw, the type of tournament you want to play, and you want to fight hard.
On her great show last year.
It’s hard to say. I don’t think it’s only one thing. I think, first of all, I was back weeks after weeks as here, so I was able to practice and to play tournaments with a vision, you know. It was not just, Okay, I know I can play two matches but no more. Like I was feeling more and more confident in my body to be able to train and to play a lot of matches.
And then that time off tennis also made me realize what kind of game style I want to play, which game style I’m enjoying on court. When I came back, that was what I wanted to do.
On her expectations on the
year ahead.
That’s what is tricky, actually. It’s like you always want to do better, but you start to compare yourself to what it was last year, but I don’t think it’s a very good mindset. So that’s what I’m working on, to just focus on the present and to see what I can do better from yesterday only.
On making the comparison.
Yeah, how you are feeling, how you were moving, how you were hitting the ball, what was your result. Yeah, but that’s good but not good enough. That’s always tricky, and that’s what we have been working on. And also, I put sometimes too much expectation on myself, and that’s not how I succeeded last year. So you want to do like last year but you put more pressure on yourself, and that was not what was working last year, so you have to find the good balance about all that.
About being superstitious.
I don’t see myself as superstitious (smiling). Sometimes routine help you to be more calm, but I don’t think it’s superstition.
Of learning things.
There are a lot of tournaments of last year that made me realize or learn a few different things. It will hard to be naming all of them, but for example, at the beginning of the year, even if I couldn’t put matches back to back, I mean, playing here and beating Halep was already a good result for me from where I was standing. Then obviously the first title in Bad Homburg meant a lot with the level of game. Then going all the way in the tournament, playing five matches, that was something I didn’t do for a very long time. So, yes, there are a lot of matches that made me realize that I still know how to play
tennis! (smiles).