In a desperately empty O2 Arena in Prague (Czech Republic), Alizé Cornet struck first against the 12th player in the world. Enterprising and sharp, the oldest of the Bleues (31) broke the Roland-Garros finalist and quickly led 4-2. But the Russian had no intention of letting Cornet slip away and resumed her service immediately after, with a white break as a bonus. As the two players seemed to be heading for a tie-break, Cornet put pressure on the Russian and got three balls in the first set. Pavlyuchenkova saved only one, ceding the set to the Frenchwoman after 51 minutes of play.
A missed start to the second set for Cornet
While the French clan began to believe in an incredible turnaround, the Russian set the record straight by breaking Cornet Entrée. More precise and at times carried by a powerful forehand, Pavlyuchenkova drove the point home and flew in this second set (7-5, 1-4). If the Frenchman managed for a time to redo the icing (7-5, 3-4), she did not materialize her three break points when her opponent was used to win the set. Not without difficulty, the Russian took advantage of it and stuck to a sleeve all over her third set point (7-5, 4-6).
Less impactful in the decisive round, Cornet seemed to pay for the efforts made to get there and gave up his throw-in twice in a row. The 59th player in the world may have erased a first late break, the loss of her service in the seventh game definitively gave way to the meeting. On her next face-off, Pavlyuchenkova just had to unwind to offer Russia a place in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.