Guadalajara (Mexico) – After saving two match points in her first match at the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara, Caroline Garcia managed to win her second match of the tournament in straight sets. The Frenchwoman nevertheless had a very demanding match against the 21-year-old North American Hailey Baptiste, 174th in the ranking, scoring 7/5 and 6/4 in 1h32 of play.

“I tried to stay calm, positive and play one point at a time. In the important moments I was a little more solid and that made the difference today,” Garcia said during the field maintenance. The Frenchwoman got a revenge, after losing to Baptiste last year, in Australia. Her next rival could be Veronika Kudermetova or Victoria Azarenka.

First quarter-finalist in Guadalajara ✅@CaroGarcia fights against Baptiste in straight sets and claims his place in the last eight.#GDLOpenAKRON pic.twitter.com/YwMhgg063K

– wta (@WTA) September 20, 2023

During the first set, Garcia opened 4/1, conceded a draw in the eighth game, but broke again in the last game of the partial. She committed two double faults from Baptiste (who made 11 in the entire match) and also attacked some of her rival’s second serve returns.

The North American opened 2/0 in the second set and led 3/1, but gave way to 4/3. Garcia escaped a 15-40 in the penultimate game of the match and then broke to close out the match. She led the winning count 16 to 13 and committed 27 errors to 34. The Frenchwoman took advantage of her four break opportunities and saved four of the six break points she faced.

Also progressing is Sofia Kenin, finalist in San Diego last week and who continues her good form. The North American beat the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6/4 and 7/5 in 1h44 of match. This is the fifth victory of the year against the top 20 for Kenin, who is currently at 53rd place in the rankings and re-assimilated to the top 40. Returning from injury, the former world number 4 and champion of the 2020 Australian Open was only 280th in the rankings in January.

“It’s my first time here and I’m very happy with how I adapted. Surprisingly, the altitude helps me and I play very well,” said Kenin, who made only three unforced errors against 25 for Ostapenko. The Latvian was the most aggressive player and made 36 winners against 19, but suffered three breaks and only took advantage of one break point out of ten opportunities.

Kenin’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 21st ranked, who beat North American Emma Navarro 6/2 and 6/3. The only previous duel between them took place at the 2020 US Open, with Kenin winning in straight sets.

Caroline Dolehide eliminates the 8th seed from the tournament
Also this Wednesday, her North American compatriot Caroline Dolehide won a match lasting just one hour against the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, seeded 8 in the event and world number 20, by 6/1 and 6/2. Dolehide, 111th in the rankings, could face Tunisian top seed Ons Jabeur or Italian left-hander Martina Trevisan.

R16 | Caliente Grandstand

Caroline Dolehide 🇺🇸 def. Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-2#GDLOpenAKRONxSantander | @WTA pic.twitter.com/hTTquwsVyB

– GDL OPEN AKRON WTA1000 (@WTAGuadalajara) September 20, 2023