San Diego Open 2023: Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Fixture: (2) Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens

Date: September 13, 2023

Tournament:San Diego Open 2023

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, California, United States

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $780,637

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

Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens preview

World No. 10 Caroline Garcia will play against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round of the 2023 San Diego Open on Wednesday.

Garcia performed very well during the first half of the season. She reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, coupled with runner-up finishes in Lyon and Monterrey. She also made the quarterfinals in Adelaide, Doha, Stuttgart, Berlin and Eastbourne.

However, Garcia's form took a turn for the worse since the end of July. She failed to win a match in Washington, Montreal, and even Cincinnati, where she was the defending champion. She changed her losing streak at Cleveland, where she reached the last eight.

Garcia took on Yafan Wang in the first round of the US Open and lost to her in straight sets. Since she failed to defend her semifinal points from last year, she's now on the verge of exiting the top 10 of the rankings. She received a first-round bye in San Diego as the second seed.

Stephens kicked off her campaign here against Elise Mertens in the first round. The American bagged the opening set with ease as she lost just one game in it. After a bit of back and forth in the second set, she took a 4-2 lead and held on to it to win the match 6-1, 6-3.

Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens head-to-head

Garcia lead Stephens 4-3 in the head-to-head. The latter won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Western & Southern Open in three sets.

Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens odds

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens prediction

Stephens played a rather solid match to beat Mertens in the previous round. The American's fluid shotmaking had her opponent on the ropes for the better part of the match.

Garcia's poor standard at most of her last events have put a dent in her plans of qualifying for the WTA Finals, which she won last year. Having lost her last two matches against Stephens, the World No. 10 will need to change her strategy for a different outcome this time around.

But Garcia's stubbornness has cost her quite a few matches now. Her lack of adaptability with respect to her game plan has proven to be her downfall. Her aggressive return stance and high-risk shotmaking hasn't yielded the necessary results.

Stephens, on the other hand, is capable of mixing defensive and offensive strategies quite well. She seems to have figured out Garcia's tactics too. While the American herself has been quite inconsistent this season, another win against the Frenchwoman doesn't seem too farfetched.

Pick: Sloane Stephens to win in three sets.