Svitolina vs Garcia French Open tennis preview, head-to-head and predictions

Caroline Garcia is on a three-match winning streak against Elina Svitolina – will the third seed rise to the challenge and secure a place in the French Open quarterfinals?

Garcia vs Svitolina is live from Roland Garros on Sunday 4 October, 3pm local/2pm BST

Third seed Elina Svitolina is out to make the quarterfinals of the French Open for the third time, and with no seeded players among her potential opponents if she does, there is a big opportunity on the line – but there is also a big test waiting in the form of Caroline Garcia.

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Powerful Garcia has upset Anett Kontaveit and Elise Mertens to reach the fourth round, and has won her last three matches against Svitolina – is another upset on the cards?

Read on for our preview, predictions and live streaming information.

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Svitolina vs Garcia: Head-to-head

Caroline Garcia has a 3-1 record against Elina Svitolina, and has won their last three matches, including the only clay-court match they have played at Stuttgart in 2018.

All three of Garcia’s wins have come in three sets – six of the nine sets in those matches have gone past 5-5.

Svitolina vs Garcia: Preview

Third seed Svitolina has been largely under the radar at the French Open until now, but her match against Garcia is sure to be on Court Philippe-Chatrier and to attract the small but enthusiastic crowd in Paris this year – a crowd whose support certainly helped power Garcia to a comeback win over Elise Mertens in the last round.

While Garcia was getting roared on against Mertens, Svitolina was quietly winning a tight match 6-4, 7-5 against Ekaterina Alexandrova, breaking at the end of each set in a real test of nerve to beat the Russian who is more dangerous on hard courts but so much improved over the past 18 months or so.

The Ukrainian hasn’t really looked convincing so far at the French Open, but has survived with the loss of just one set (to Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in the second round). Here is the test against Garcia: Can she raise her game when needed? It’s something she was unable to do in the third round of the French Open for the past two years, but which she proved she could do when she made her first Grand Slam semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, imposing herself like a top player to stop the runs of in-form opponents.

Caroline Garcia (Photo by Laurent Zabulon/ABACAPRESS.COM)

This is the third time in four years that Garcia, who made her first and so far only Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open in 2017, has made the fourth round at Roland Garros, but the first time she’s done it as an unseeded player. Clearly Garcia, who used to be excruciatingly uncomfortable on Philippe-Chatrier, is enjoying the reduced numbers of spectators – not to mention the conditions, which advantage players who can really power through the courts, as she is able to do with her big serve and forehand.

Garcia played well at the US Open to beat Karolina Pliskova, and seems to be one of the players who has really put her shutdown time to good use – and she’s on a three-match winning streak against Svitolina. They have never played on outdoor clay, nor should it be forgotten that two of those wins came during Garcia’s career-best season in 2017 – a level of play she’s not found consistently since. Still, Garcia’s playing well, Svitolina hasn’t so far seemed entirely convincing, if they play under the closed roof on Philippe-Chatrier the conditions will mimic that of Stuttgart – Garcia has a real chance of getting the win, or at least of playing a long, close match: Their last three clashes have lasted 29, 34 and 38 games respectively, with the winning margin 5, 4 and 2 games.

Svitolina vs Garcia: Prediction