Roland Garros: Elina Svitolina vs Caroline Garcia preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020

Match details

Fixture: Elina Svitolina vs Caroline Garcia

Date: 4 October 2020

Tournament: Roland Garros 2020

Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: Approx. €38,000,000

Match timing: Approx. 4 pm CEST, 7.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Also check out: The Complete French Open 2020 Schedule

Elina Svitolina vs Caroline Garcia preview

Third seed Elina Svitolina looks to strengthen her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title as she faces Caroline Garcia in the Roland Garros fourth round on Sunday.

Svitolina kicked off the restart of her season at the Italian Open a couple of weeks ago, where she lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinal. But the Ukrainian bounced back immediately, winning her first title of the year in Strasbourg - defeating the likes of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Magda Linette along the way

At Roland Garros so far, the 26-year-old has looked relatively comfortable in her opening rounds barring a 0-6 2nd set loss to Renata Zarazua. She will come into the match on Sunday looking to reach the quarterfinal and match her best result at Roland Garros, which she had achieved in both 2015 and 2017.

Caroline Garcia (L) and Elina Svitolina at the 2017 WTA Finals

Home favorite Caroline Garcia is a former French Open quarterfinalist herself, and is no stranger to the big stage. Not many would have expected Garcia to reach the fourth round stage given her tough draw, but the Frenchwoman has rallied in spectacular fashion to defeat the likes of Anett Kontaveit and Elise Mertens in the early rounds.

The fourth round outing at Roland Garros is already Garcia's best since Wimbledon 2017, and she will come into the game brimming with confidence.

Elina Svitolina vs Caroline Garcia head-to-head

The meeting in Paris is the fifth between the two players, and Caroline Garcia currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 over Elina Svitolina. That said, the pair have not met for the better part of the last two years.

Their last meeting came at the 2018 Stuttgart Open, where Garcia prevailed in three hard-fought sets - the same way she did when the pair met in Beijing the year before. Garcia also defeated Svitolina at the WTA Finals in 2017, but the Ukrainian blew past her in their first meeting, at Cincinnati in 2015.

Elina Svitolina vs Caroline Garcia prediction

Caroline Garcia at the 2020 French Open

Although Elina Svitolina is ranked higher, her record against Caroline Garcia shows how she has struggled to cope with the Frenchwoman's aggressive brand of tennis. Garcia's game is based around clean groundstrokes with plenty of topspin, which is particularly effective on clay.

The World No. 45 overturned a poor outing in the first set against Mertens to take the match in a marathon decider. Moreover, the tricky cold-weather conditions in Paris seem to complimenting her game too.

Svitolina arguably faces her biggest test of the tournament so far against Garcia. Despite her title win in Strasbourg, the Ukrainian has shown moments of weakness and inconsistency so far at Roland Garros.

Svitolina's mental strength and remarkable defensive abilities have helped her stay afloat, but her serve has been misfiring all tournament. That could be punished by Garcia who is a formidable returner, and comes into the match with a lot of momentum.

Prediction: Caroline Garcia to win in straight sets.

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