The clay court season is here. Still in the United States, Alizée Cornet was searching for form on this surface, which promises to be decisive for the rest of her season.
Seventh consecutive defeat for Alizée Cornet, who continued her American tour at the Charleston tournament. On a clay court with a sometimes not so flattering reputation, the Niçoise faced the American Amanda Anisimova (22 years, 264th in the world). A semi-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2019, this young player from New Jersey knows this surface very well. Returning this year after putting her career on hold due to burnout, she is seeking points to regain the top 20 where she had long been.
The start of the match favored the Maralpine, who got the first break point straight away on Amanda Anisimova’s serve. It was in the middle of the first set that the match turned. Struggling with her second serve, the Niçoise fought to maintain her service games. The rallies lengthened, but her opponent held firm and eventually prevailed on her fifth opportunity. Without a solution, Alizée Cornet even conceded a second break and lost the first set (6-3).
A second set not very flattering for Alizée Cornet
What followed was a true ordeal for the Niçoise. After missing three break points on the American’s first service game, Cornet gradually lost her way in the match. Struggling on her service, she fell on her fourth conceded break point. From then on, Amanda Anisimova played very good tennis. Strong in the rallies, she left no chance for the Azuréenne to come back. Worse, she gradually wore her down. The final score was harsh (6-0) but didn’t reflect the French player’s level of play.
Now, Alizée Cornet is expected to return to Europe to continue on the Spanish clay courts in two weeks or more. Or perhaps, she might take a short break and focus on a training block with Roland-Garros in sight.
