She is on cloud nine. French tennis player Alizé Cornet created a sensation on Tuesday August 30 in New York, playing the first round of the US Open. Not only has the 32-year-old from Nice become, with her first racket shot of the match, the player who has played the greatest number of Grand Slam tournaments in a row (63), but she took the opportunity to offer herself, by two sets only, Emma Raducanu’s scalp, 11e world player and defending champion (6-3, 6-3).
For her first confrontation with the Briton, Alizé Cornet (40e) overcame his chronic clumsiness on serve (9 double faults), dominating the exchanges thanks to his aggressiveness (22 winning shots against 15) and the unforced errors of his opponent (30 against 22).
.@alizecornet is victorious in Armstrong!
She defeats Raducanu, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to Round 2. https://t.co/RHAd0zCBxv
— usopen (@US Open Tennis)
” All my heart “
“I put my heart into it, the atmosphere [du court Louis-Armstrong] was great and I’m very happy to have won”commented the French. “I am more mature and I manage to better manage my emotions”she underlined to explain the good results she posted this year in the Majors.
In Australia, at the very beginning of the year, she reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time in her career. She was then beaten in the third round at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where she edged out world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round, ending the Pole’s 37-game winning streak. .
“In terms of winning, it’s by far my best season, she judged after her success on Tuesday. I think I had never won more than nine Grand Slam matches in a year and here I am at ten. (…) There’s a bit of everything that lines up and it’s nice to reap the fruits of my labor. »
More than 500 victories on the circuit
The French wants to play at least until the next Roland-Garros, in 2023, and could then end her career. ” The fact of wanting to take advantage of these moments that I will miss makes me take a little distance from what is at stake. Tonight, I had the impression that it was I who arrived as the favourite”, he appreciated.
Alizé Cornet entered the top 5 of the best French players in August, with more than 500 victories during her career. She will face in the next round the Czech Katerina Siniakova (83e) to get a 504e tournament victory. And stay on his cloud.
The feat also for Clara Burel, the discomfiture for Benoît Paire
The French Clara Burel, 131e world and from the qualifications, also shone on Tuesday on the New York courts by releasing the winner of the last Wimbledon, the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (25e) with the score of 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old Frenchwoman will face the Belgian Alison van Uytvanck (43e) in the next turn.
In the men’s draw, the Frenchman Richard Gasquet (91e) dropped a set but overcame the sweltering humid New York heat to dismiss Japan’s Taro Daniel (95e) in four innings and 3:17 (6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2, 6-2). At 36, he who reached the last four at Flushing Meadows in 2013, he will be opposed to 2e tour in Serbia Miomir Kecmanovic (36e).
The other three Frenchmen of the day were eliminated: the defeat of Benoît Paire (173e) against Briton Cameron Norrie (9e) was predictable, but the score 6-0, 7-6 (7/1), 6-0 leaves you speechless. Adrian Mannarino (45e) was beaten 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 by Dutchman Gijs Brouwer (181e) from qualifications. And Enzo Couacaud (193e) lost in five sets (6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 4-6, 7-5) against Croatian Borna Coric (29th), after having served for the match at 5-3 in the final end.
