France’s Alize Cornet’s wondrous run continues at the Australian Open. The 32-year-old from Nice eliminated former world number one Simona Halep in Melbourne and is in the quarterfinals for the first time in her 63rd participation in a Grand Slam tournament. The unseeded Cornet prevailed 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 4, then sank to his knees and shed a few tears of joy. The 2018 finalist and two-time Grand Slam tournament winner Halep supported herself exhausted with both hands on the net.
“It was an incredible fight here in the heat. After half an hour we thought we couldn’t do it anymore. But we lasted two and a half hours,” said Cornet afterwards: “A dream comes true for me with my first quarter-finals. It’s never too late.” The thermometer showed 33 degrees even in the late afternoon (local time) when Cornet won the match point after a good two and a half hours.
Halep could see the hardships in the heat. Again and again, the 30-year-old Romanian supported herself on her racket between rallies or did not walk properly to some balls. During the breaks, both players tried to cool down with ice packs or towels. “I felt sick, I was a bit dizzy,” Halep said. “It’s difficult to play in the heat and I wasn’t ready for it today.” Cornet now meets Danielle Collins, who is 27th and won 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4 against Belgian Elise Mertens.
For the first time, two Canadians are in the top eight at a Grand Slam tournament
The Canadian tennis pros continue to cause a sensation among men. One day after Alexander Zverev’s unexpectedly clear defeat by Denis Shapovalov, 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime made it into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The ninth in the world rankings prevailed on Monday against former Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic from Croatia 2: 6, 7: 6 (7), 6: 2, 7: 6 (4). For the first time, two Canadian tennis men are in the top eight at a Grand Slam tournament.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov had won the ATP Cup with the Canadian team at the beginning of the season and proved their good form. Shapovalov now challenges Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Auger-Aliassime hopes to get into the semi-finals against last year’s Russian finalist Daniil Medvedev. After his 6: 2, 7: 6 (4), 6: 7 (4), 7: 5 against the American Maxime Cressy, the US Open champion is separated by three wins from the second Grand Slam triumph. In a game of missed opportunities, title aspirant Medvedev had to fight for his success for three and a half hours. Medvedev was only able to use three of his twelve break chances against the service specialist.
