Melbourne Jan 24 (BUS): Perseverance finally paid off against emotional Alize Cornet when she reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam at the 63rd attempt.
The Frenchwoman, who celebrated her 32nd birthday on Saturday, took to the court crying at the end of a grueling 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Simona Halep in grueling conditions at the Australian Open.
Cornet has played in every Grand Slam over the past 15 years and this was her sixth trip to the fourth round but she has never before been able to move forward.
The first came 13 years ago at Melbourne Park when it held two match points against Dinara Safina to only lose, dpa reported.
It is fitting that Jelena Dokic, the woman she would have played had she won that day, gave a touching post-match interview.
Cornet took control of the group and led 3-1, but the previous finalist Halep is one of the most fiercely competitive in tennis, responding with six straight matches.
The two women were clearly feeling the heat, but that didn’t stop them from engaging in lung-breaking rallies and dragging each other around the court.
Cornet scored a breakthrough to lead 4-3 in the deciding set and took two points over Halep in two games later to keep the Roman.
Nerves were clear from both, but Cornet held her nerve long enough to make it to the finish line.
In the quarter-finals, she will face 2019 semi-finalist Danielle Collins, who has also had a long battle, defeating 19th seed Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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