Cornet cries after entering the quarterfinals of a Slam at 63rd attempt

Alize Cornet’s is on its way to being the great story of the Australian Open. At the moment, the Frenchwoman, 32 years old last Saturday and 61st in the world, is already in the quarterfinals, a round that has cost him a lot to reach in Grand Slams. Specifically 63 attempts, a new record that she takes from the Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn, who needed 45 to reach Wimbledon 2008. Cornet did it this Monday by beating Romanian Simona Halep, seeded 14th, in a titanic duel that lasted 2h33: 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. He will face the American on Wednesday Danielle Collins (27th), semifinalist in 2019, who defeated Belgian Elise Mertens (9th) in another battle resolved in three sets: 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4 in 2h51.

“I couldn’t see well and my hands were shaking, but I kept fighting. I play for these moments and to share them with people,” Alize said., emotional and in tears, in the interview by game that the former Australian player Jelena Dokic did to her, who ended up crying because of the flattery and compliments that the Frenchwoman gave her, with whom she merged in a heartfelt hug and against whom He could have met in the year of his first victory in Melbourne, in 2009, but the Russian Safina prevented him in the second round.

Cornet, a player whose strong character causes constant changes in her work team, according to colleagues from L’Equipe, is in Melbourne with two youngsters from the Mouratoglou Academy, Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre, who were also moved, because they surely did not expect that the tennis player from Nice, very foul-mouthed on the court, could end up with three seeds in one stroke in the tournament, since she had previously dismounted Muguruza (3rd) and Zidansek (29th), against whom he lost 6-4 and 4-1 before coming back.

Similarities

Halep ran into the last of her shoe, a rival just as fighter as her, with a capacity for defense that is being extraordinary, due, in large part, to her good physique and to the fact that she is a “tennis addict”, as she explains in a diary book she published last year. That similarity meant that there were many long exchanges in the clash, specifically 48 of nine or more blows, of which the gala took 30. Follower of Justin Henin and Roger Federer, she likes music, movies and football; also pasta and orange juice, Paris and Roland Garros, although success has come in Australia. And it can be even higher.

Swiatek saves the furniture before Cirstea

Iga Swiatek (7th) struggled to come back and eliminate Sorana Cirstea and qualify for the first time in the Australian Open quarterfinals, second in Grand Slam after being champion in 2020 and quarterfinalist in 2021 at Roland Garros. The 20-year-old from Poland reached her sixth consecutive round of 16 in majors without having dropped a set in the first week. Last year, another Romanian, Simona Halep, was able to beat her. Cirstea, 11 years higher number 38 in the ranking, had the merit of taking the lead before falling 5-7, 6-3 and 6-3 in 2h28. On Wednesday it will be measured with the winner of the duel of punchers that will star Kaia Kanepi and Aryna Sabalenka.

Australian Open women’s draw.