Caroline Garcia declares the Grand Slam title as her sole motivation next season following a successful comeback in 2022
World No 4 Caroline Garcia sets a new bar to attain new heights of success after becoming the 2022 WTA Finals champion.
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It has been a great comeback for the World No 4 Caroline Garcia. She finally managed to cement her place among the elites but is yet to win a Grand Slam singles title. But Garcia did the unthinkable when she won her maiden WTA Finals title in 2022 defeating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. The French player sets her future goals and aspirations while looking to carry forward her momentum of 2022.
She clinched three WTA singles titles throughout the season – the Bad Homburg Open, Poland Open, and the Cincinnati Open. Her best Grand Slam performance of the year has been at the US Open where she reached the semifinals but lost to Ons Jabeur. Garcia along with her doubles partner Kristina Mladenovic defeated Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to win the French Open doubles title.
She seemed happy while accessing her performances of the year as she unlocked a new career achievement. But revealed that winning a Grand Slam singles title is her next aim. She further admitted that winning the Year-end Championship was very important and gave the much-needed push.
During an interview, Garcia said that “I see the Masters [WTA Finals] as my greatest achievement. It’s usually considered the fifth biggest tournament of the year, just after the Grand Slams. The format is special. You have to win at least four matches against girls who are ranked from No. 1 to No. 8. And that is over a week, so it’s still quite intense, while you can win a Grand Slam without beating girls in the top 10, top 20. So it’s a title that means a lot to me.“
Adding to her train of thought, the 2022 WTA Finals champion said that “Is it a relief for me? I don’t know. Yes and no. Maybe that takes a little weight off me. But at the same time, it makes the dream and the goal of winning a Grand Slam even more concrete because it makes you want to go for much more. That’s the sport; that’s tennis. Once you have accomplished something, you always want to go for more. Trying to go for the biggest titles is what fuels my motivation. It’s the main reason why I’m training every day. Sure, the Masters is very important. It shows me what I’m capable of, but I think my game can still improve. I feel I’m able to achieve greater things.“
Caroline Garcia’s incredible 2022 season
Garcia was ranked 75th in the world when she started her season in Australia this year. The 29-year-old couldn’t make much impact in the first half of the season. She was ranked outside the Top 50 and failed to deliver in the Grand Slam facing early eliminations. One of her remarkable performances has been at the Poland Open when she ended Iga Swiatek‘s 18-match winning streak. However, during the hardcourt season, the Frenchwoman rose to the top and is now the champion at the year-end championships.
Following her successful stint, she broke again into the Top 5 of the WTA rankings. She reached the same rank way back in 2018 September as well. Overall, she has won 11 singles WTA titles, and 7 doubles titles. She penned down a heartfelt note to express her gratitude after a successful comeback in 2022 by winning the WTA Finals. It has been one of the best seasons of her career in terms of her performances.
Adding to her list of achievements, the 2-time French Open doubles champion tops the leaderboard for the WTA Ace Leaders for 2022. She pulled off 394 aces on the court. It includes the aces hit by her during both the WTA tournaments and Grand Slams. In 2016, Caroline Garcia was ninth on the list of most aces with a number of 218.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)