MELBOURNE: Tenacious eighth-seed Caroline Garcia overcame first-round wobbles to fight her way into the Australian Open second round Tuesday, showing no signs of her problem back.
The Frenchwoman, who had a breakout year in 2017, winning two titles and qualifying for the WTA Finals, ground past Germany's Carina Witthoeft 7-5, 6-3.
She hit 33 winners but also made 29 unforced errors on her way to victory.
Her nerves were clearly jangling in the second set. She was 5-0 up but gave away three games before wrapping up the match.
It was a workmanlike display by Garcia, who was serving and moving freely despite retiring in tears from the lead-up Brisbane International with a back injury.
"It was very nice to compete and finally start my 2018 season. It was a very important match for me," she said.
"I was not happy with my first set but I kept fighting and founds some solutions. The second set was a little bit easier."
She has never gone beyond the third round at Melbourne Park with her next assignment against either Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic or Japan's Karumi Nara.
