After 24 hours of waiting, Alizé Cornet finally enjoyed a break in the stormy sky over Lausanne. As a seeded player, the Frenchwoman was expected to deliver a strong performance.
Apparently relieved of her knee injury, Alizé Cornet faced Swiss player Viktorija Golubic (aged 30, ranked 117th in the world). A week after competing in the Hopman Cup at home, the Nice native continued her run on clay courts. It’s a surface on which she hasn’t excelled this year. Facing the Zurich native, who also struggles on this surface, the duel was expected to be tight.
In very changeable conditions oscillating between sun and clouds, the match started off poorly for the French player. With six double faults in the first set, it was difficult to compete. On her side, the Swiss player appeared more focused in front of her home crowd. Golubic took the first set 6-3.
In the second set, Alizé Cornet corrected her weaknesses on serve. An important weapon to disrupt the opponent’s return. And that’s exactly what she did, as the Nice Lawn Tennis Club member did not concede any break points and managed to break three times to take the set 6-1.
The end of the match was tighter. Alizé Cornet struggled to find a second wind in the early points. Facing Golubic’s devastating forehand, the player from Nice fought hard for every point. A battle ensued to hold her serve. In this battle of nerves, it was the Frenchwoman who made the difference by saving two break points at 4-3. Finally, after 2 hours and 13 minutes of play, Cornet won (3-6 / 6-1 / 6-3).
In the next round, she will face another Swiss player, Jil Teichmann (aged 26, ranked 124th in the world).
