Caroline Garcia vs Angelique Kerber Tennis Prediction
Caroline Garcia secures her tenth French Open win as she powered past Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-1 6-3. The Romanian hit 29 unforced errors (including nine double faults) and broke Garcia’s serve only after the world #7 had a set and double break lead.
Garcia, the last Frenchwoman standing, posted her only slam quarterfinal here at Paris last year, defeating Cornet and Hsieh en route. Overall, she has a 1-2 record in the grand slam last 16 matches, which includes a loss at 2018 Australian Open (l. Keys).
The 24-year-old heads into the match with a 3-7 record against top 20 players in 2018, but 3-3 on clay. Garcia is having her best clay season in terms of match wins (13), which has given her semifinals at Madrid and Stuttgart, and a quarterfinal at Rome.
Angelique Kerber avenged her 2016 French Open first round exit as she edges out 18th seed Kiki Bertens, 7-6 7-6, in an hour and 52 minutes. The Dutch, who led the second set by a break, committed 52 unforced errors, compared to Kerber’s 27.
This is the German’s second top 30 win on clay in 2018, having previously defeated #10 Kvitova at Stuttgart, the only tournament where Kerber hasn’t reached a quarterfinal in 2018 (ret. Kontaveit). On Monday, Kerber will bid for her fifth top 10 win of 2018.
The former #1 has been to the fourth round of French Open three times in the past, converting only one of them to a quarterfinal (2012, l. Errani). In the run-up to Paris, the German posted a quarterfinal at Rome, her first outdoor red clay last eight since 2015.
Kerber leads the head-to-head record against Garcia by 4-2, thrashing the Frenchwoman in their most recent encounter at 2018 Indian Wells (6-1 6-1). Their only clay meeting, at 2014 Madrid, ended with Kerber’s retirement.
Tennis Prediction: Angelique Kerber
Odds: 1.95
