WHAT HAPPENED: No. 6 Caroline Garcia saved six break points during a marathon, 20-minute game late in the third set that had 11 deuce points that gave her the momentum to take out crowd favorite Monica Puig in the second round Wednesday on Grandstand, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
The first two sets were a quick blur of unforced errors and uneven play — Puig the erratic one in the first and Garcia inconsistent in the second as Puig surged. But the third set did not disappoint. And at 4-all, both players stepped up repeatedly in big moments. For Garcia, a forehand winner followed by a big serve was enough for the dispirited for Puig, who quickly crumbled after the changeover, having dropped six break points.
When asked about the marathon game by ESPN after the match, Garcia repeated the same line twice: “This game was crazy!”
In the first, Garcia bolted to a quick 3-0 lead and then held easily for 4-0. In a must-hold situation, Puig served big for a 40-30 lead; a 97-mph serve to Garcia’s backhand ended the game. A 40-0 game for Garcia, though, effectively took the first set, as Puig struggled to keep up with Garcia’s pace. Puig, though, got a little momentum on her first serve holding twice before Garcia put away the first set, 6-2.
There was little time for fans to consider whether Puig would go down in straight sets, as she completely flipped the switch in the second. Puig settled in with her serve, raising her first serve winners to 77 percent. Garcias’s confidence dropped as Puig raised the pace of her ground strokes, and the No. 6 player in the world committed 13 unforced errors as Puig rolled to go up 5-1. At 30-15, she crushed a weak Garcia return and followed up with an ace for the easy close.
Puig’s fans implored for another third-set comeback in the final set. Until the last couple games, both players strongly held serve until 4-all. Down 4-5, Puig double faulted and committed two unforced errors to lose the game and the match.
WHY IT MATTERS: Those playing pick ‘em at the US Open would have had a tough time with this one before the match. On the one hand, Garcia is the No. 6 player in the world, well above her counterpart Puig at No. 55. Further, the US Open has not been kind to the Puerto Rican, as she has not been past the second round despite consecutive main-draw appearances since 2013 (Puig reached the second round in 2014), and Puig’s health has been a concern of late, as she retired in New Haven last week.
On the other hand, Puig beat Garcia last week in New Haven and steamrolled past her first-round opponent Stefanie Voegele 6-0, 6-0 in 44 minutes.
For her part, Garcia has been steady as of late. The Frenchwoman made the round of 16 at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, with a quarterfinal result recently in Montreal and a round of 16 finish in Cincinnati.
MATCH POINT: After two straight third-round US Open losses the last two years, Garcia will look to break her way into the final 16 for the first time.
