For her first round at the Masters 1000 in Rome, the Nice native Alizé Cornet faced the Czech Tereza Martincova. This was a crucial match to regain confidence three weeks before Roland-Garros.
Eliminated in the first round of the Reus Challenger in Spain last week by a young Spanish player, Leyre Romero Gormaz (21 years old — No.161) with a score of (6-0 / 6-2), Alizé Cornet was eager to bounce back.
The first set was highly contested in each service game. Trailing for most of the set, Alizé Cornet managed to break back her opponent several times. After more than 50 minutes of play, she pushed the world No. 95 to a tie-break. A decisive game dominated thoroughly thanks to a stronger serve. Overwhelmed, Martincova logically conceded (7-2).
The start of the second set quickly turned in favor of the more aggressive Czech. But the French player managed to claw back, taking advantage of her opponent’s weak second serves. Being more proactive in crucial points, Alizé Cornet succeeded in pulling away by fighting for every point. Rallying points that wore down Martincova. Especially when the Nice native concluded by placing her drop shot from the baseline. In the end, she won (7-6/6-4) after a hard-fought match.
An interesting result that will need to be confirmed in the round of 16 against the Chinese player Qinwen Zheng.
