Five years after WTA Finals debut, Caroline Garcia returns to semis, conquers Daria Kasatkina

WATCH: It's only fitting Garcia won the match of the tournament with an equally outstanding point.

FORT WORTH, Texas—Caroline Garcia’s last WTA Finals appearance came five years ago, and the former world No. 4 felt every minute.

“It feels like it's been a long time,” she exclaimed before the tournament, decked out in an on-theme ensemble complete with cowboy hat and boots.

Her first trip to the Finals was a mad dash, the result of two incredible weeks in Wuhan and Beijing. This time was the result of a more methodical approach, a slow build back towards the top of the game after taking time off to fully recover her injured body. While she enjoyed another late-season surge, she had to come back up after an autumn lull and prove she could peak in time for the tour finale.

“Many things happened positive, less positive, tough experience, injury. And it was a long process.”

And Garcia continues to be a work in process: days before touching down in Fort Worth, she parted with Bertrand Perret, the coach who had overseen the Frenchwoman’s rise back up the rankings and 13-match winning streak from the Western & Southern Open title to the US Open semifinals.

What remains constant for Caroline 2.0 is a commitment to a hyper-aggressive game plan, one that manifests with an almost comically deep return stance that left her inches from the service line against Daria Kasatkina. But the gamble paid off; Garcia outlasted the No. 8 seed, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) in just under two and a half hours to complete the semifinal line-up and book a meeting with Nancy Richey Group winner Maria Sakkari.

It proves that this year was definitely a good year. Started very far for being in the Top 10 or Top eight, and made my way to it and playing a lot of matches. A lot of wins. It's one more thing that proves to me that my game style is working and I have to keep going that way. And you have to fight until the end. Caroline Garcia

“It was a tough challenge,” she said after the match on Saturday. “You know, everybody was like, ‘Yeah, I have to play my game, I have to go for it.’ I knew she was not going to give it to me. Most of the time, she looks like a defensive player. But as soon as she has a short ball, she can find some really great targets, so you cannot really leave her any short balls.

“Still, I had to go for it. I wanted to go for it. But my target was not as great as always. I missed a couple of times by a little bit, and it was a bit frustrating. But I tried to keep going, put on more pressure than I had, but to play bigger targets sometimes. “

By far the match of the tournament, Garcia and Kasatkina put on a show for those watching the contrast in styles play out in Dickies Arena, a slow court that, for all Garcia’s efforts to dictate play, drew both combatants into a slew of spellbinding rallies that left the crowd breathless.

Kasatkina joked that Garcia would turn her into a “goalkeeper” before the match and that analysis proved prophetic as the 25-year-old—herself in the midst of a career renaissance after just missing out on a WTA Finals berth in 2018—gamely counterpunched through what should have been a critical opening set. After all, Kasatkina had gone on to win all 29 matches that she played from a set up this season.

“I gave a lot of energy in the first set,” said a crestfallen Kasatkina after the match. “In the second set I lose this game, I think 2-1, I was 40-15 up and I lost this game so Caroline could find her path.”

Garcia took the momentum to force a decider, and twice led by a break only for Kasatkina to level each time. The match appeared to come down to a nine-deuce ninth game, during which the Russian saved six break points.

But even as she was nearly standing on top of the net, Garcia felt she could have been more aggressive.

“I did nothing with it,” she said of at least three break points. “It was just a perfect, perfect target for me, for being able to hit it and go for it. It was like 1, 2, 3, I was like, come on, I mean, you have to do something!”

A younger Garcia would have likely folded in the following game, unable to let go of opportunities lost and already racked with nerves. Instead, she stepped to the line after 90 seconds and ultimately served her way to a tiebreaker—a testament to how relaxed she’s been all week.

“I came here with a situation to manage,” she explained. “We tried the best we could to prepare to be ready.”

Ending the match with a lung-busting rally, Garcia needed to catch her breath before she could take flight for her inimitable Caroplane celebration. Perhaps one doesn’t recover quite as quickly five years later, but the 29-year-old is also five years wiser, better able to navigate the highs and lows that come with a tennis career—and her all-or-nothing tactics.

“It proves that this year was definitely a good year. Started very far for being in the Top 10 or Top eight, and made my way to it and playing a lot of matches. A lot of wins. It's one more thing that proves to me that my game style is working and I have to keep going that way. And you have to fight until the end.”