"I got pretty nervous, and kind of had a crisis of panic" - Nerves nearly got the better of Garcia in reaching WTA Finals semis

Caroline Garcia was able to overcome big nerves in her match against Kasatkina to secure a spot in the WTA Finals semi-finals.

The French player was up a break in the opening set but then lost four games in a row to lose it. She then smashed Kasatkina in the second set 6-1 but found herself losing an early break in the final set. Facing a couple of break points, Garcia held firm and then outplayed the Russian in the tiebreak to take it.

It was a nerve-wracking experience for her:

“It was a very big match, for sure.I started the first set okay, but then I got pretty nervous, and kind of had a crisis of panic. I kind of lost my mind a little bit because she’s (Kasatkina) is bringing back a lot of balls and I went for too much. I managed to get back more calm and do more controlled tennis. The second set was definitely very good and the third set was just a battle.”

Nobody, including herself, expected something like to happen and it's a great thing for her:

“It’s definitely a great achievement. I was already very proud to be in the top eight and to be able to go through the group, it’s even better. I started (2022) very far from being in the top 10 or top eight, and made my way to it and played a lot of matches. Today it’s one more thing that proves to me my game style is working and I have to keep going that way.”

Up next is Sakkari and on that, Garcia said:

“She’s a player of big moments. She’s proving it once again, making the semifinal again and it’s going to be a big match. She’s a way different player than the one I played (Kasatkina). Very powerful and moves well. So it’s going to be a good challenge again.”