2023-04-25 19:27:46
World number 5, Caroline Garcia is exempt from the first round in Madrid, and will face the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in the second round, Thursday or Friday.
We take the same and we start again. After a rocky start to the season, Caroline Garcia has decided to resume her collaboration with Bertrand Perret, her coach for almost the entire 2022 season. Her physical trainer and physiotherapist, Laura Legoupil, has on the other hand left her team at the end of March, and the Frenchwoman is still looking for her replacement, but she approaches the WTA 1000 in Madrid with the desire to do well on clay, to prepare for Roland-Garros as well as possible.
How have you been feeling since arriving in Madrid?
Caroline Garcia: We had a few days of training. It’s the first time outside for three weeks, it’s obviously different and here there’s the altitude. But I wasn’t there last year so I’m very happy to be back. It’s a tournament that I enjoy, very fast, I had good results in singles and doubles (a singles semi-final in 2018 and a doubles victory in 2016 with Kristina Mladenovic). I love the energy of Spain, it’s a country where I feel good (she has spanish origins).
The break was short between the Billie Jean King Cup and Stuttgart. How did you manage this sequence?
It was difficult for me to go from the Billie Jean King Cup to Stuttgart so quickly. I played long matches with the France team, my body really felt it. So the adjustment in Stuttgart was done in haste. It is a very slippery court so adaptation is not easy. So far I’ve only played two matches on clay so I’m happy to go outside, to play on super fast courts. You have to adapt to the altitude because it flies a bit here so I need a little time but I will do my best.
In Stuttgart you seemed physically diminished, with an elimination in the quarter-finals. You called the physio for abdominal pain. Is it behind you?
Yes the week in the Billie Jean King Cup had been hard and intense so the body suffered a lot. But it’s better, today I was able to serve at 80/90% today so I’m pretty happy with the evolution.
You’ve been working with Bertrand Perret for a few weeks now, have you put your way back in place or are you doing things differently?
When you have a change in your team, it always brings positive energy because it’s a new thing. As has always been the case, Bertrand’s language on the court in relation to my game works well. We understand each other, it’s quite fluid so it gives me confidence. We don’t work exactly the same because things change, but the principle of training, my style of play and the way we want to develop it, is in line with what we did there. ‘last year.
Where are you on the overall restructuring of your team?
I did a trial with a physio last week, I’m doing a trial with another physio here in Madrid and Rome. We also started with a physical trainer. Things are going well, I’m building little by little. It gives me structure, confidence, they are people I can lean on. It frees my mind a bit, so I’m happy with this development.
Pablo Carreño-Busta spoke about the pressure of playing in front of his home crowd. When you play in front of your home crowd, do you feel extra pressure compared to your tournaments abroad?
Yes I think you feel something different when you play at home, and it’s even stronger at Roland-Garros, so I think it’s the same for the Spaniards in Madrid because it’s a big tournament. Obviously in all the big tournaments you want to go far, but you don’t often play at home, so you want to go far in front of your public, your family… There are a lot more fans who support you. It’s part of the game but it’s obviously extra pressure. Sometimes positive, but it’s not always easy to take advantage of it.
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