MALLORCA, Spain – Caroline Garcia continued her domination of No.3 seed Ana Ivanovic, dispatching the Serb in a titanic affair in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Open, 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-3.
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Playing in her first-ever grass court quarterfinal, Garcia had plenty of momentum against Ivanovic, having won their last three matches in 2015. But Ivanovic had played some solid tennis of her own in Mallorca, and recovered from an early break to force a first set tie-break against her French nemesis.
“I had so many opportunities, but I stayed positive even when I’d lose my advantage,” Garcia said in her post-match press conference. “It’s good to win matches like this against a big player.
“I was down in the tie-break and had no choice but to go for it and take the opportunity before she could.”
Garcia saved a whopping five set points in the ensuing sudden death – three in a row from 3-6 down – and snuck off with the opening set on her second opportunity. Undaunted, Ivanovic fought back hard in the second set, winning three games in a row to level the contest after being two points from elimination.
“On grass, it’s more mental with so many short points. I was feeling good on the court, and would stay aggressive on the return to put pressure on Ana.
“I think movement is most difficult for me, especially when it’s humid and slippery.”
The Frenchwoman indeed maintained the pressure in the third, racing out to a 3-0 lead and weathering one last Serbian serge to serve out her spot in the semifinals, where she’ll play none other than Kirsten Flipkens, 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist and Ivanovic’s doubles partner.
“It’s a good test for me because she loves grass. I played her a couple weeks ago on clay, so it’ll be much different. She has the shots to play on this surface, so I will have to be aggressive and put the pressure on her.”
Flipkens edged past Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg, 7-5, 6-3, to reach her second WTA semifinal of 2016, and her first since finishing runner-up in Monterrey.
“It was warm today but I had a good match today,” the Belgian said in her post-match press conference. “I think she started off really well and at the beginning it was really tough to play my game. But I got into the match better and better, serving well.
“For sure, she was in good shape coming out of qualifying, so I needed to see how her game was. She got an early break, so it was important for me to break her back when she was serving for the set. I was always winning the first point on her serve, but it was a matter of getting into those second and third points.
“Once I broke back to 5-5, I felt like I was back in the match.”
With half the season left to go, Flipkens admitted she already achieved her main goal for 2016 – representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’ve never played there before, so I’m very happy about that.”
No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic and Anastasija Sevastova snapped up the final two semifinal spots of the day; the former No.1 dispatched the resurgent Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 6-3, while Sevastova recovered from a second set wobble to defeat Mariana Duque-Mariño, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
