Growing up in Bron, France, a suburb of Lyon, Caroline Garcia watched the French Open on television and dreamed it was her playing on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I definitely remember coming back from school when I was less than 10,” Garcia said last week. “It’s snack time and you were always in front of the TV watching Roland Garros. It was a routine of every day and weekend final.”

And then, in a few short years, it actually happened. There was the 17-year-old Garcia, a wild card into the 2011 main draw, on the verge of defeating Maria Sharapova in a second-round match. She was up 6-3, 4-1 on the then-three-time Grand Slam winner before reality settled in. Sharapova won the last 11 games and Garcia learned an invaluable lesson about the difficulty of closing against a champion.

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A dozen years later, Garcia is ranked No.5 on the Hologic WTA Tour. On Monday, she’ll face No.64 Wang Xiyu of China on that same court as the overwhelming French favorite.

“For a French player, playing a Grand Slam in France is wonderful,” the 29-year-old Garcia said. “Of course, most of the time the sun is playing an important part, but also feeling the clay and having a tough battle but also being supported by the fans, by one's family in the box. That triggers a lot of emotions.

French Open Day 1 results

“It’s a Grand Slam, so of course you have a lot of dreams, but we have to be in the moment.”

This is Garcia’s 13th French Open; her best effort was reaching the quarterfinals in 2017. She’s the only seeded player from France in either draw. After putting together the best year of career in 2022, she’s had difficulty replicating that fabulous form.

Last summer, Garcia found the perfect ratio of risk/reward and put together some marvelous results. She won the title in Cincinnati, defeating Top 10 players Maria Sakkari, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, then Petra Kvitova in the final. Garcia reached the semifinals at the US Open, her best result in a major. At the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, she prevailed over Sakkari in the semifinals and Sabalenka in a taut final.

This year Garcia reached finals in Lyon and Monterrey, losing to Alycia Parks and Donna Vekic, but was 2-2 in Indian Wells and Miami and is 3-3 so far on clay.

“Obviously it’s not easy to do a copy-paste of what is happening in the couple months before,” Garcia said. “But it is also part of it, and last year made me able to do some great things at the end of the year, starting very low. So I’m just trying to be patient, having a good mindset and work hard and being positive -- as positive as I can.

“That’s part and parcel of tennis. We play a lot of tournaments. I would like to win them all. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the solution yet to manage this.”

Evert posted a 72-6 win loss record at Roland-Garros. Her seven titles from nine finals remains the record in the women’s game, surpassed in the sport only by Rafael Nadal’s 14 titles.

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Wang, 22, could be a tough out. This is only her second match at the French Open, but she’s had a nice run-up on clay, reaching the Round of 16 in Rome and the third round in Madrid.

They have never played.

“She’s lefty, different game style, for sure,” Garcia said. “I don’t really know her. She played a good tournament I think in Rome. So she's definitely confident. But I will try to play my game, be aggressive and adjust a little bit if necessary.”

After dreaming those dreams in suburban France, Garcia lived them in real time when she captured the Roland Garros doubles title in 2016 with compatriot Kristina Mladenovic. Matching that in singles would be the ultimate thrill.

“It was always special to see the champion lifting that trophy, and they were getting emotional, and I was getting emotional in front of my TV,” Garcia said. “So, yeah, it's good memories and maybe one day I will be there.”

Other notable Monday first-round matches

No.10 Petra Kvitova vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto: They have never played.

No.12 Belinda Bencic vs. lucky loser Elina Avanesyan: They have never played.

No.14 Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Tatjana Maria: The series is 1-all but both matches were in 2014.

No.17 Jelena Ostapenko vs. Tereza Martincova: Martincova won their only match two years ago in Birmingham.

No.20 Madison Keys vs. Kaia Kanepi: Kanepi’s only win over Keys was in 2015; Keys is 2-0 since.

No.22 Donna Vekic vs. qualifier Dayana Yastremska: Yastremska leads the series 3-1.

No.26 Martina Trevisan vs. Elina Svitolina: They have never played.