Tenth in the world since her brilliant career in New York at the beginning of September, the 28-year-old Lyonnaise has only played two meetings on the circuit since: last month, she lost as soon as she entered the running in Tokyo, another WTA 500 tournament. , against the Chinese Shuai Zhang, in three sets.
Monday, in Southern California, the Frenchwoman lost this time in two sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), after 1h30 of play.
Her opponent, 19th player in the world and finalist at the Australian Open at the start of the year, had not played for more than a month, and her defeat in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows.
"Caro is playing incredibly this year (...), taking the ball early and trying to finish the points quickly," the 28-year-old American said after the game.
"I had that in mind when I entered the court, and I just had to be on the initiative as much as possible," continued Collins, who notably dominated the Frenchwoman during the main long exchanges between the two players.
This defeat marks a setback for Garcia, after his dream American summer, notably marked by his title at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, in August.
After this setback, the Lyonnaise is still not guaranteed to compete in the Masters, which will bring together the eight best players of the season from October 31 to November 7 in Fort Worth (United States).
Caroline Garcia remains in favorable waivers but everything will depend on the results of the Guadalajara tournament (Mexico), a Masters 1000 scheduled for October 17 to 23.
© 2022 AFP