Stunning Alizé Cornet. After reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at the Australian Open and qualifying for the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where she beat world number 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round, the Niçoise again released an unexpected performance in Grand Slam by beating the defending champion Emma Raducanu, Tuesday evening, in the first round of the US Open (6-3, 6-3).
“I put all my heart into it, the atmosphere (of the Louis-Armstrong court) was great and I’m very happy to have won,” commented the Frenchwoman, who at 32 never ceases to surprise herself. “In terms of winning, this is by far my best season,” she added. Like what, everything comes at the right time to who knows how to wait. This is a great proof of my consistency all these years. There was my 500th victory, the record for consecutive Grand Slams… There’s a bit of everything that lines up and it’s nice to reap the fruits of my labor. »
Alizé Cornet, 40th player in the world, is playing her 63rd Grand Slam tournament in a row in New York, a new record after equaling the old record held by Japanese Ai Sugiyama at Wimbledon. “To tell myself that I still love it so much after all these years, it’s beautiful, and I deserve this record. Even if it’s not a very important record, it symbolizes who I am as a player, ”she appreciates.
Breath of fresh air for Burel
The Niçoise, who has never passed the round of 16 in New York and remained on elimination as soon as she entered the competition in 2021, will face the Czech Katerina Siniakova (83rd) to try to climb to the third round.
Another notable performance of the night, the feat of Clara Burel, 131st in the world and from qualifying, who took out the winner of the last Wimbledon, the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (25th), 6-4, 6-4. A breath of fresh air for the Rennaise, who is going through a complicated season: 74th in the world at the start of the year, she had so far only won eight matches on the main circuit and has been evolving without a coach for a few weeks.