Asked about the Roman tifosi, Garcia relativizes: "It's not a problem"
Caroline Garcia made a successful debut in Rome. Opposed to local Elisabetta Cocciaretto (56th), Garcia logically had the honor of the Centre Court on Friday. After a good start in which she dominated her tennis inferior opponent (6-2 in the 1st set), the Frenchwoman gave herself a real scare. Buoyed by an enthusiastic Roman crowd, Cocciaretto got off to a flying start in the second act, putting the pressure on her.
In an electric atmosphere, where the tifosis did their utmost to support their player, 'Caro' finally found the resources to avoid a perilous final set. Winning 5 of the last 6 games of the match, it was finally at the end of a very tense tie-break that the Frenchwoman prevailed in just over 1h30 (6-2, 7-6).
Asked in the press conference about the fury unleashed by the Italian public, Garcia tried to calm things down: "Obviously, like in any other country, Italian fans want to light up and get excited. I think I was lucky today, it wasn't excessive, it was respectful and obviously, fans are expected to cheer their player. Especially in Rome. It's not a problem as long as they're respectful and respect certain tennis-related boundaries It's also great fun for tennis and the sport, we always prefer an energetic crowd to a quiet, boring crowd." (Interview at the press conference).
