Ranked as high as No.4 at the start of the month, you would be expecting Caroline Garcia to be considered as one of the favourites but it is very much the opposite with the Frenchwoman being seen as a vulnerable high seed thanks to her current poor run of form. She plays Xiyu Wang, a tricky lefty who has been showing some decent form in the past month.
The Chinese acquitted herself well in Madrid and Rome with a 5-2 record with wins over sees Irina Begu and Bianca Andreescu the highlights of those. She is yet to win a main draw match at Roland Garros though, having lost in round one in 2021 as well as failing to qualify twice since 2019.
The clay swing has not been kind to Garcia with some disappointing losses along the way. A loss to a much improved Anastasia Potapova doesn’t look so bad in retrospect but she lost early in Madrid and Rome too, falling in straight sets to Mayar Sherif and Camila Osorio respectively. With three titles and a US Open semi final to defend later in the year, Garcia will need to improve elsewhere and second round points here seem like a good opportunity if she can avoid losing early.
Wang is largely untested on the biggest courts but has enough in her game to trouble the 5th seed in her current form though. Garcia has to be one of the most confidence driven players which is best shown by comparing the rankings of her now and this time last year. The pressure of being the top home representative is there but her current struggles mean that expectations may not be as high as they could have been. “I’m just trying to be patient, having a good mindset and work hard and being positive — as positive as I can.” she said.
Prediction – Caroline Garcia in three sets
