Top seed Karolina Pliskova crashes out of US Open as Caroline Garcia pulls off big shock

Tennis365
Caroline Garcia delighted

Top seed Karolina Pliskova became the biggest casualty of this year’s US Open so far as she was dumped out at the second-round stage by Caroline Garcia of France.

Pliskova’s 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) defeat further obliterated a women’s field which was shorn of six of the world’s top 10 before it started – and left American Sofia Kenin as the highest seed standing.

The 2016 finalist made a dismal start as she fell a double break behind to 26-year-old Garcia, a player who has struggled to live up to initial expectations and sunk from a career high world ranking of four to her current 50.

Pliskova produced a single winner in the opening set and fell a break down in the second before belatedly rallying, breaking back and fashioning two set points on the Garcia serve at 5-4.

But just when Garcia showed signs of the kind of wobble that has hampered her career, she hauled herself back to force a tie-break, and swept through it in style much to her evident delight.

Garcia said: “It was very close to being a third set and if so I was ready. When I got broken in the second set I didn’t do anything really bad, and I had to stay focused and aggressive.”

Karolina Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova became the biggest casualty of this year’s US Open so far (Seth Wenig/AP)

Varvara Gracheva produced one of the most stunning comebacks in Grand Slam history when she came back from 6-1 5-1 down to beat 30th seed Kristina Mladenovic.

The 20-year-old from Russia, playing at her first major championship, saved four match points before taking the second set on a tie-break.

France’s Mladenovic promptly crumbled as Gracheva completed a remarkable 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory.

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