Paris (AFP)
French No.2 Caroline Garcia (45th) came out in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against Estonian Anett Kontaveit (21st) in the first round of Roland-Garros on Sunday under the roof of the Court Central.
In the third set, Kontaveit had a break in advance twice, but each time Garcia managed to come up to speed.
After a first set in which she proved to be solid and enterprising, the Lyonnaise had previously seen her opponent equalize thanks to a performance without any direct fault in the second round.
"I'm really happy with my attitude and my state of mind. I fought to the end and I was more aggressive in the third set," said Garcia.
"Yesterday evening (Saturday) again, I could not believe that Roland Garros was going to start today because the conditions are so special," she added.
"You are only a thousand but you are there, and that represents a lot", she addressed to the spectators who came to attend her entry into the running.
In a press conference, Garcia stressed that the absence of a massive audience - only 1,000 spectators allowed per day, health crisis requires - could help him.
"It is certain that due to the small number of spectators, there is less pressure", she said about a Central which sounds "a little more hollow".
"It's good that there are 1,000 people. Obviously I would have liked there to be more", she then recovered.
"I think that can be a very positive element for us players, us French even more".
Garcia will face Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich (96th) in the second round.
© 2020 AFP