Tennis: Garcia enjoying sport again after Australian Open stroll

Caroline Garcia took just 65 minutes to overwhelm Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov 6-3, 6-0. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

MELBOURNE - Caroline Garcia on Tuesday declared that she was enjoying tennis again after a tough couple of years when injuries caused her form to desert her.

The French fourth seed took just 65 minutes to overwhelm Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov 6-3, 6-0 and cement her status as a real contender for the first Grand Slam of the year.

Ranked fourth in September 2021, she lost in the first round at Melbourne Park a year ago to drop outside the top 70.

But she stormed back to form later in 2022, winning titles on all three surfaces, including the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, to soar up the rankings.

“We always say things can change very quickly,” Garcia said, after setting up a second-round clash against another Canadian, Leylah Fernandez.

“A couple of years were very tough and I had to deal with a lot of injuries.”

The 29-year-old credited her backroom team for her stunning return to elite company.

“It’s tough. But I got a good team behind me who really helped me to get healthy again and to enjoy what I was doing on court. The support was really important,” said Garcia, who started her season by winning all three of her matches for France at the United Cup and then reached the quarter-finals in Adelaide.

“I enjoyed playing tennis again. I was, like, I want to go forward, I want to make winners.

“It’s the best way to play tennis.

“So I’m trying to keep going that way.”

Unseeded Fernandez reached the US Open final in 2021, losing to Britain’s Emma Raducanu.

Garcia said the pair had never played each other before.

But she was expecting the 20-year-old, who is ranked 40th, to be a dangerous opponent.

“If you want to go all the way in a Slam, you have to beat some tough players,” added the Frenchwoman, who made her Melbourne Park debut a decade ago and her best run, to the last 16, in 2018.

“It’s a good test. A good challenge.”

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka also breezed into the second round,

She needed only 69 minutes to beat the Czech Republic’s Tereza Martincova 6-1, 6-4.

“It wasn’t that easy, I’m super happy to start with the win,” said Sabalenka, who has been known to suffer from nerves in the past.

At her two season-opening tournaments in Australia in 2022, she was reduced to tears as her serve collapsed.

“I have to work on my mindset and stay calm and not get too upset when I make mistakes,” she said.

“I really believe this is the only thing missing in my game.”

Sabalenka, who reached the semi-finals at the US Open in 2022, continued her good form in Australia this season after winning the recent Adelaide International without dropping a set.

On Tuesday, the Belarusian hit 29 winners and saved all five break points faced.

And she was rarely troubled as she looks to get past the last 16 in the Australian Open for the first time, having reached that stage in each of the last two seasons.

Second seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, who reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2022, survived a scare before she beat Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-1.

Separately, Tennis Australia on Tuesday banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Slam after Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, demanded action when one was sighted among the crowd.

Sabalenka said she understood how the display of the flags of the two countries might upset Ukrainian players.

“I really thought that sport has nothing to do with politics,’’ she said.

“But if everyone feels better this way, then it’s okay.

“If Tennis Australia made this decision to make them feel better, okay.

“They did it, what can I do? I can do nothing.” AFP, REUTERS

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