“The French are built to surrender. Not fight,” Caroline Garcia and Co. become target of fans as they make early exits from the French Open

French tennis stars including Caroline Garcia face criticism on Twitter

“The French are built to surrender. Not fight,” Caroline Garcia and Co. become target of fans as they make early exits from the French Open

Image Credit: Caroline Garcia(Fox Sports), Ugo Humbert(Eurosport) and Benoit Paire(News in France)

Caroline Garcia, the 5th-seeded women’s player at the French Open and a local favorite at the French Open, exited the tournament in the 2nd round. Caroline lost to World No. 56 Anna Blinkova in three sets. Despite a strong start by the French player, she could not keep the required momentum, eventually succumbing at the hands of Blinkova. The crowd was wholeheartedly cheering for Garcia. She did put up a good fight in the 3rd set, saving 8 match points, but Blinkova finished the job in the 9th.

Caroline Garcia was the highest-ranked player from both the WTA and ATP pool of players. Hence her exit hurt the French fans a little more than other early exits of other local players. But there have been a string of early round exits for France as a nation.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0z7O_2qci1Y

Ugo Humbert whose world ranking is 40 also exited in the 2nd round. He lost to lower-ranked Italian Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets. In the first round, Humbert defeated his French countryman Adrian Mannarino. The seasoned Richard Gasquet also lost his first-round match.

FS Video

Arthur Fils who won the Lyon Open recently by defeating Frances Cerundolo in the Final, also had a first-round exit at Roland Garros. Another crowd favorite, Benoit Paire, played a thrilling 5 setter with Briton Cameron Norrie.

The crowd was enthusiastically supporting Paire who had the match in his grasp but let it slip away unceremoniously in the 5th set.

Keep Exploring: WATCH: Elina Svitolina confesses to screaming in room as husband Gael Monfils staged an epic comeback at the French Open

Twitter lambasted French Players especially Caroline Garcia

Carol Twitter Christopher Clarey
Caroline Garcia (Image Credit: Twitter Christopher Clarey)

Tennis fans on Twitter were quick to react to Caroline Garcia’s defeat. She was the last big bet from France, who fans hoped to see go deeper in the rounds. But Blinkova made sure that that didn’t happen. Most of them criticized how Garcia played and handled the pressure. One of the fans brought out the analogy by comparing French players to the French army who surrendered in World War 2. They said “The French are built to surrender. Not fight.”

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

https://twitter.com/totaltorytwat/status/1663909278137081869?s=20

Ugo Humbert also faced a lot of flak on Twitter for his 2nd round exit at the hands of Lorenzo Sonego. He lost in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

https://twitter.com/cou_rage00/status/1663902132884340737?s=20

Many fans highlighted with Caroline’s exit the path is clear for Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final of Roland Garros.

Amongst the French stars, Gael Monfils is one that is a crowd-pleaser. He had a great first-round match against Argentinian Sebastian Baez. Monfils pulled a 5-set winner against Baez. But his next-round match-up is great in the form of Holger Rune. Perhaps another early-round exit is in order.

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