They are two of the biggest hitters on the Hologic WTA Tour, and last year they collided three times in a span of nine weeks. The first of those matches between Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia came in the first round of the Australian Open.
And now as a special treat — in a page borrowed from the “Groundhog Day” script — they’ll meet again on Monday in precisely the same spot.
“Obviously we are both aggressive players and trying to get the control of the rally very quickly with big serves,” Garcia told reporters ahead of the tournament. “Most of the time it’s the one who goes a bit earlier that is able to win the point.”
Familiarity, it is said, can breed contempt. In this case, not so…