Lyon 2022: Caroline Garcia vs Alison Van Uytvanck preview, head-to-head and prediction | Open 6eme Sens

Match Details

Fixture: Caroline Garcia vs (7) Alison van Uytvanck

Date: 4 March 2022

Tournament: Lyon Open

Round: Quarterfinal

Venue: Lyon, France

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Indoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $235,247

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Caroline Garcia vs Alison Van Uytvanck preview

Caroline Garcia has had a decent run in Lyon so far

Caroline Garcia, the only Frenchwoman left in the Lyon Open, takes on seventh seed Alison van Uytvanck in the quarterfinals of the competition on friday.

The 28-year-old started 2022 with an opening-round exit at the Melbourne Summer Set 1. However, she followed this with a run to the quarterfinals of the Sydney International. Garcia lost to eventual runner-up Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets.

The Frenchwoman then suffered first-round exits at the Australian Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships. She started the Doha Open with a win over Simona Halep but was eliminated in the next round by 14th seed Coco Gauff.

Garcia was up against top seed Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Lyon Open and the Italian took the opening set 7-5. However, the former World no. 4 fought back to win the next two sets and reach the second round. Here, she beat another Italian in Martina Trevisan to advance to her second quarterfinal of the year.

Van Uytvanck had a similar start to 2022 as Garcia, suffering an opening-round exit at the Melbourne Summer Set 1. She entered the qualifiers of the Adelaide International 2 but could not make it to the main draw after losing to Dayana Yastremska in the final qualifying round.

The Belgian then competed at the Australian Open and reached the second round after beating Cristina Bucsa. However, she lost to Wang Qiang in three sets despite being a set up.

The 27-year-old then suffered a first-round exit at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy before bowing out in the second round of the Qatar Open.

Van Uytvanck entered the Lyon Open as the seventh seed and reached the quarterfinals following wins over former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva and Varvara Gracheva.

Caroline Garcia vs Alison van Uytvanck head-to-head

Friday's match in Lyon will be the third meeting between the two players, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. Van Uytvanck won the first match between them at the 2019 Fed Cup. However, Garcia beat the Belgian in the quarterfinals of the Lyon Open in 2020.

Caroline Garcia vs Alison van Uytvanck prediction

Friday's quarterfinal promises to be an exciting match and it could go to three sets. Being the only Frenchwoman still left in the tournament, Garcia will look to go all the way in Lyon. The 28-year-old will be in high spirits, especially having eliminated the top seed earlier this week.

She will rely heavily on her powerful groundstrokes and serve for points. While Garcia has a strong serve, she's also prone to double faults, having served 11 of those in the tournament so far. She'll have to ensure that the double faults are kept in check.

Van Uytvanck will also aim to get as many free points on serve as possible. The Belgian will try to put Garcia under pressure with aggressive moves and strong groundstrokes. However, the former World No. 4 is pretty aggressive as well. So it will be quite interesting to see who comes out on top. Keeping unforced errors and double faults to a minimum will be key for both players.

Van Uytvanck may be the higher-ranked player but with the tournament taking place at Lyon along with Garcia's recent upswing, the match will be close.

Prediction: Garcia to win in straight sets