France's Caroline Garcia (45) did not score a single game against world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the Fed Cup final in Perth, Australia. The latter won 6-0, 6-0 in just 56 minutes in the second singles, Saturday, November 9, equalizing (a victory everywhere) against France.

In the first, the French number 1 Kristina Mladenovic (40th) had drastically beaten Australian No. 2 Ajla Tomljanovic (51st), 6-1, 6-1, in 1h 11 min.

Like the first match, the second was one way, but in favor of Australia this time.

The final continues on Sunday with the last two singles, followed by the doubles.

Three winning points for sixteen faults

Extremely solid, especially in service in the first set, Ashleigh Barty left no chance for Caroline Garcia. The French has indeed achieved only three points win for sixteen faults (against fifteen points and nine faults for the world number 1).

Tomljanovic, of Croatian origin but made eligible less than a month before the final by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), played her first match for her adopted country, at 26, and completely collapsed under the weight of the stake.

"I had never felt that," she admitted, "it's a difficult feeling to explain, I've felt it since the ceremony (which preceded the matches, ed), you play for something a lot bigger than the rest of the year, it's very special. "

A French success, the third after 1997 and 2003, would come, in the first campaign Julien Benneteau in the role of captain, complete the reunion season between Caroline Garcia and his teammates, Kristina Mladenovic in particular, after two years of quarrel. The French remain, however, three defeats in the final, in 2004, 2005 and 2016.

Australia runs after his trophy

Third most decorated nation with seven titles, Australia runs it after its first trophy in Fed Cup for 45 years (1974). Alicia Molik's players raised their country in the final for the first time in twenty-six years.

This final on the west coast of Australia is the last before the Fed Cup, like the Davis Cup since this year, handing his home games or away and his three weekends of competition throughout the year. year to focus on a one-week final tournament with twelve teams starting in 2020, in Budapest in the spring.

With AFP