Caroline Garcia cruised past Greek Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first WTA Finals championship match yesterday, sending over 19 winners and a half-dozen aces in Fort Worth, Texas.
The US Open semi-finalist will be well-rested when she next faces either Aryna Sabalenka or three-time major winner Iga Swiatek today, closing out the semifinal against the world No 5 in only 75 minutes.
The Frenchwoman needed three sets and everything in her arsenal to beat Sakkari in Cincinnati three months ago. Still, she showed no such issues at the season-ending tournament, breaking the Greek to love late in the first set before carrying the first four games of the second.
A clumsy double-fault handed Sakkari a sorely needed breakpoint chance in the sixth game. Still, Garcia extinguished it instantly with an ace, and the usually Greek fighter never got a share of the momentum.
Sakkari: "I played a very average match from my side. I wasn't sharp. I wasn't an energized. It didn't feel great on the court, because my physicality is my number one strength and I felt like today it was off."
Sabalenka and world No 1 Swiatek was set to play later on Sunday.
