In tennis, to qualify for the Olympic Games, you must be among the top 70 players in the world. The Nice native Alizé Cornet has passed this first step, but the hardest part is yet to come.
Alizé Cornet, the fighter!
At just 22 years old, the Azuréenne will compete in her second Olympic Games. “Beijing remains the best memory of my career,” she says. Qualified for London thanks to a wild card, she does not intend to just make an appearance. “I hope to honor this invitation, because participating in the Games has always been one of my childhood dreams. The goal is to bring home a medal. On grass, it may not be where I’m best positioned, but I believe in it!” And her recent results confirm this ambition. A finalist in Strasbourg in May, the protégé of George Goven won the second title of her career in Bad Gastein, Austria, the following month. She is thus nearing the top 50. A sign of her great comeback? “I worked hard and it paid off,” she declared happily at the end of the tournament. She is currently in the quarterfinals at the ITF in Bucharest.
It’s worth noting that Alizé Cornet has come a long way! After first making her mark with the general public in 2005 when she passed the first round of Roland Garros at just 15 years old, the Nice native confirmed her talent in 2008. That year, she won her first title on the senior circuit. More consistent, more focused on her game, less temperamental, she was knocking on the top 10’s door by February 2009. But her results did not match this 11th world ranking. “Zezette,” as her father calls her, slipped and headed straight for a descent into hell.
It is a new Alizé that the whole of France is rediscovering in 2012. In love, more of a fighter, and more determined than ever, the Nice native aims to showcase her rediscovered tennis. She, who has always taken her brother Sébastien as a model, intends to prove she has surpassed the master!
