French Open 2024: Sofia Kenin vs Caroline Garcia; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

It’s time for the clash of two former world number fours at the iconic Philippe-Chatrier. America’s Sofia Kenin takes on France’s top-ranked woman, Caroline Garcia in an exciting second-round matchup at the 2024 French Open. Both the players haven’t been in great form this year, but they will be keen to prove their mettle on the bigger stages of the game. Can Caroline Garcia take the home advantage and come out of this match with flying colors?

Although Caroline Garcia has reached a QF and an SF in her previous two tournaments this year. But she has failed to bring any consistency to her game. She has failed to win any trophy as of yet. Her last title triumph was at the WTA Finals in 2022. It will be interesting to see how Sofia Kenin approaches this game and coping with the pressure from the Parisian crowd will be key to her success against the French tennis star.

Sofia Kenin vs Caroline Garcia: Preview

Sofia Kenis is yet to make an impact on the Tour this year. She has showcased pretty much ordinary performances in her previous tournaments this season. Even in the last match, she snatched victory from the jaws of a defeat against Germany’s Laura Siegemund. She defeated the German by a 4-6,6-2,6-2 scoreline. Interestingly, Kenin failed to hit even a single ace in the entire match but committed three double faults. Her first-serve win percentage was 58% and it crept up to 70% of the second-serve. Sofia Kenin converted six of her seven breakpoints against Siegemund.

If we look at her numbers from this season, the 25-year-old American tennis star has hit just 14 aces this season and has committed 37 double faults. She has won 65.5% of her service games and 27.5% of her return games so far this season. Her numbers don’t look too impressive as of now. Can she improve it in her next game?

Her opponent in the next game, Caroline Garcia also had a small hiccup in her match against German tennis player Eva Lys in the first round. Garcia defeated Lys by 4-6,7-5,6-2 to make way into the second round of her home Slam. In that match, she hammered a staggering eighteen aces and committed just eight double faults against the German opponent. Her first-serve win percentage was 68% and her second-serve win percentage was 63%. Garcia converted just six of her fifteen breakpoints in that match.

Serves are one of her most lethal weapons. She has hit 180 aces so far this season and has committed just around 64 double faults. Caroline Garcia has won 76.7% of her service games and just 24% of her return games this year. Her numbers look a bit better than the American but who’s currently leading the H2H?

Kenin vs Garcia: Head-to-Head

Sofia Kenin and Caroline Garcia have met each other twice in their careers. But this will be their first meeting on the clay courts. Kenin has won both of their previous meetings in straight sets. They had first met each other at the QF of the 2018 Mallorca Championships and in that match, the American outclassed Garcia by 6-3,6-3. Their next meeting was at the Hobart International in 2019 and even that time, it took Kenin just two sets to topple the French tennis star.

In that R32 clash in Hobart, Caroline Garica hit five aces and didn’t commit a single double fault in the entire match. Whereas, Sofia Kenin hit two aces and committed one double fault. Kenin’s first serve win percentage in that match was 76% while it was just around 62% on the second serve. On the other hand, Garcia had recorded 59% on the first serve and 53% on the second serve. She failed to convert three of her breakpoint chances while the American converted three out of ten breakpoints. Grabbing the tiniest of opportunities with both hands will be very crucial in deciding the winner in this game.

Prediction: Garcia to win in three sets

Playing on the home soil in front of the home crowd may well give an advantage to Caroline Garcia against Sofia Kenin. But if we look at their previous records in this tournament, Kenin reached the finals of the French Open in 2020. Whereas, Garcia’s best performance came at the 2017 French Open when she reached the QF. However, if we look at their current form, the French have a win-loss record of 14-12 so far this season while Sofia Kenin has recorded just 3-10. So, Garcia looks to be in a comparatively better form this year.

Sofia Kenin has an aggressive style of play and she brings a lot of variety in her game rather than just power. She loves to play from the baseline and can hit winners with both her forehand and backhand. While Caroline Garcia is an offensive baseliner and she is very much consistent with her powerful groundstrokes. Garcia’s strong and accurate serve can catch her opponents on the wrong foot on any given day. So, looking at the overall record and current form it seems the Parisian crown is gonna ‘Fly with Caro’!