Bertens, Garcia Grab WTA Titles and Momentum Headed Into French Open
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Caroline Garcia and Kiki Bertens claimed some mojo by winning claycourt titles entering Roland Garros on Saturday.
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Bertens, a qualifier, won the WTA title in Nurnberg, her second career title, defeating Mariana Duque-Marino 6-2, 6-2.
“I was serving good and going for my shots,” Bertens said. “I had really good length to my shots and so she couldn’t do much from the baseline.”
Both of Bertens’ titles have come as a qualifier after winning Fes on claycourts four years ago.
After the singles final she teamed with Johanna Larsson to win the doubles, beating Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voracova 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
The Frenchwoman Garcia won her first title of the year, beating qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
“I felt very confident going into the final,” Garcia said. “The first set I let her back into it. The first set is super important in tennis for momentum. Because you want to get off to a good start. And I got that today, which helped for the rest of the match.”
Garcia ran out to a 5-1 lead on her homecountry soil before fighting off a comeback from Lucic-Baroni.
“It was my seventh match,” said Lucic-Baroni who was a runner-up in the same spot an amazing 19 years ago. “I was a bit slow. A bit tired. It was to be expected. I’m proud to get to the final though. People have been asking me to sign pictures from 1999 — it’s like another life. But it makes me proud to have been able to come back and be at the same stage 19 years later.”
Garcia improved to 2-2 in career finals, claiming her first title of the year.
“Another title is great — it’s progress but every tournament is a new chance to develop,” Garcia said. “But today is a great day for me, especially in front of home fans here in France.”
The 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni fell to 3-2 in career finals.
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