A feat, a real one! Alizé Cornet, 61st in the world, qualified Monday in oppressive heat for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, a stage she reached for the first time at 32 in a Grand Slam tournament, beating Romania’s Simona Halep (15th) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The Frenchwoman, who is participating in her 60th Major without having missed a single one since the 2007 Australian Open and her 63rd overall, will face the American Danielle Collins (30th) on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said, before adding, she who had failed five times in the round of 16 Grand Slam: “It’s never too late! »
The two players suffered a lot from the oppressive heat of this early followingnoon, in the middle of the Australian summer. The air temperature was 33°C but it was much higher on the court, in the furnace of the Rod Laver Arena. So much so that the organization’s alert level was 3.5 when, at 5, matches are suspended. “I stopped thinking following 30 minutes of play. I mightn’t see clearly, my hands were shaking, but I saw that she (Halep) was no better,” said the Frenchwoman.
” The adventure goes on ! »
As the match progressed, each point became a more or less long torture session, depending on how long it took one or the other to crack. But none gave up and the intense standoff lasted for 2h33. Cornet had three breaks in the first set, including the one that allowed him to conclude the first set by taking advantage of a double fault from his opponent.
In the second set, the Frenchwoman took Halep’s service game to lead 3-1. But, at 3-2, Cornet scored the first point of the 6th game, before conceding 16 in a row which allowed the Romanian to return to a set everywhere! Trailing 6-4, 3-1, Halep chained a total of six games to lead 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 as Cornet went through a big slump.
At the change of sides at 3-2 for her in the second set, the referee asked her to resume the game more quickly. “Do you realize how hard it is? It’s crazy, it’s inhuman,” she replied. In the decisive set, she took the lead by breaking for 4-3 and confirmed at 5-3. In the process, she had two first match points on Halep’s serve but the Romanian saved them and forced the French to serve for the match. ” The adventure goes on ! exclaimed Cornet.
