This week, the Lagardère Paris Racing is hosting the Clarins Trophy for the second time. A tournament in which our two players from the French Riviera, Alizé Cornet and Fiona Ferro, are participating, with varying fortunes.
In her opening match at the Clarins Trophy, Alizé Cornet faced an up-and-coming player on the circuit, the American Ashlyn Krueger (148th in the world – 19 years old). A match that was closely contested from start to finish. Struggling with their serves, both players found it difficult to make a difference. Against the power of Krueger, the Nice native responded from the back of the court with long rallies. In this battle, it was Cornet who made the difference in the first set. Not without difficulty, as it took her six set points in the tie-break to prevail (8-6).
Quickly trailing in the second set, the French No. 2 made an effort in the middle of the set to come back and leave the American behind. This was despite some difficulties with her footing, as evidenced by her little fall in the first set tie-break. Final score (7-6/6-3) in favor of the Nice native.
Ferro Could Do Nothing
While her compatriot was making her comeback on the Françoise Dürr court, Fiona Ferro started her match against the South Korean Su Jeong Jang (114th in the world – 28 years old). Both players were in form in 2023. Although the Riviera native displayed some beautiful play, it was the Korean who quickly took the lead. More solid on her serve, Jang managed to exploit every weakness, particularly on her opponent’s serve, to win (6-3/6-1). It was a harsh defeat from which Ferro will need to recover before entering the qualifications for Roland Garros.
In the next round, Su Jeong Jang will face… Alizé Cornet, who will try to avenge her compatriot to continue her preparation for Roland Garros.
