Late in the morning, Alizé Cornet, ranked 104th in the world in the WTA rankings and a qualifier, won a nice battle in three sets against Yanina Wickmayer (7-5, 4-6, 6-3) in this first round of the Cluj-Napoca tournament.
Alizé Cornet had to recover from her elimination in the first round of the Melbourne tournament. At the end of a struggle with Yanina Wickmayer, the French player had the last word. A superb duel against the 81st-ranked player in the world pushed her to her limits. ” From the second half of the 2nd set, I felt that it was hard physically. I’m not as young anymore, I felt it, but I’m very happy to have won this match,” she said with a smile at the end of the match. After eliminating Mara Gae and Jil Teichmann in the two qualifying rounds, the player from the French Riviera dominated Y. Wickmayer in three sets and advanced to the second round in Cluj.
The 1st set likely set the tone for the rest of the match. A tough, fierce battle between the two women where Cornet never gave up, even when on the verge of losing it. Trailing 5 games to 3 and close to losing this 1st set, the player from Nice managed to win 4 consecutive games without even facing a set point. The French player completely defied predictions at the end of this first set, seizing the 1st set from her opponent. (7-5)
Exciting Duel between Cornet and Wickmayer
In a bid to avenge this unfortunate outcome, the Belgian player showed aggression right from the start of the second set, taking Alizé’s first serve. Despite some bright spots, including a clean game to come back to 4-2, the player from the French Riviera was broken a second time, on a double fault in her serve. However, Alizé had no intention of giving up. She first broke Wickmayer’s serve and then delivered another clean game on her own serve. Unfortunately, these efforts were not enough. Wickmayer ultimately won the second set (6-4).
During the third set, the player from Nice did not falter. Trailing 40-15 on her serve during the 2nd game, Wickmayer did not find the success she hoped for on her two break points. The 81st-ranked player missed an unmissable smash offered on a silver platter by the French player. Following this, Alizé seized her opponent’s serve at the first opportunity. A double fault that marked a turning point in the match, bringing the score to 3 games to 1 in favor of Cornet.
Equally significant, the following game virtually summarized the match. A long, hard-fought battle between the two players. After long suspense with 8 deuce points and 4 saved break-back points, Alizé finally prevailed, holding onto her serve. (4-1) The French player then showed some concerns, clutching her knee multiple times. A. Cornet had another scare in the following game, falling flat on her stomach after slipping and missing her backhand. More fear than harm. Alizé got back up a few seconds later to the applause of the crowd, though still showing signs of fatigue.
The French player secured the final games and did not miss the opportunity to finish off her opponent. She converted her 1st match point, returned into the net by Wickmayer. Alizé Cornet secured a nice win in three sets (7-5, 4-6, 6-3). She will face Arantxa Rus, the number 1 seed, ranked 45th in the WTA, in the next round on Thursday, February 8 at 9 a.m.
