Trailing by a set, French tennis player Caroline Garcia returned to her usual best and won a memorable match, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) in 80 minutes against Russian Daria Kasatkina and advanced to semifinals in the WTA Finals here on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Amid all the scenarios and permutations of round-robin play at the WTA Finals, this match was a black-and-white, winner-take-all situation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Garcia is the third French player to reach the semifinals in her first two WTA Finals appearances after Francoise Durr (1972 and 1973) and Mary Pierce (1993 and 1994).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's definitely a great achievement. I was already really proud to be in the Top 8. I don't really know if I realize that this is the semifinal tomorrow. It proves that this year was definitely a good year. I started very far from the Top 10, the Top 8, and I make my way to it. Today, it's one more thing that proves my game style is working and I have to keep going that way," Garcia was quoted as saying by the WTA.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I tried to stay very positive, keep fighting, try to play aggressively, even if she is probably the best defensive player in the world and such a fighter," Garcia said in her on-court interview. "We have kind of very opposite games, so it made some great rallies."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I had a crisis of panic, I think I lose my mind a little bit," Garcia said. "Obviously, she was bringing back a lot of balls and I went for too much. Second set was very good. Third set was a battle."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After losing four straight games, almost predictably, Garcia regrouped and won the second set easily. Her momentum continued when Kasatkina double-faulted to lose the first game of the third set.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But with Garcia serving at 3-2, Kasatkina pulled off two incredible shots when she needed them most to break. The first was a retrieved drop shot that she flicked a cross-court forehand for a winner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Down 3-4, Garcia prevailed in a 14-point game that ran nearly nine minutes when she hit an emphatic ace. The ninth game, at 4-4, lasted more than 13 minutes and was epic. There were nine deuces, four double faults and six break chances for Garcia -- and yet, Kasatkina escaped when a Garcia forehand sailed long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n