It’s a huge blow that Alizé Cornet made, Saturday, July 2, during the third round of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The Frenchwoman eliminated the world number 1, Iga Swiatek, in two sets (6-4, 6-2), also ending the series of 37 consecutive victories of the Pole. “I don’t have the words… It reminds me of my victory against Serena [Williams] eight years ago on this same short number one which brings me luck »commented the Frenchwoman after the meeting.
And for good reason, in 2014, she dismissed the American, ranked world number 1, from the London Grand Slam. “I knew I could do it. ‘Cause if there was a time to beat her [Swiatek]I knew it was on grass »added Alizé Cornet who since 2014 had not passed the third round at Wimbledon.
Iga Swiatek hadn’t lost a match since her second-round elimination in Dubai in February. The Pole had won the six tournaments she had played since: Doha, Indian Wells and Miami on hard courts, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland-Garros on clay.
At the stage of the round of 16, the Niçoise (37e world) joins two other French women, also qualified: Caroline Garcia, who will face the Czech Marie Bouzkova, and Harmony Tan, who will challenge the American Amanda Anisimova. A performance that French tenniswomen had not reached since 2005 on English grass.
“I am like good wine”
At 32, Alizé Cornet is experiencing a real makeover. Last January, she had already made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, notably by beating the number 3 seed of the tournament, the Spaniard Garbine Muguruza. For the first time in 63 participations, she then exceeded the milestone of the round of 16 in a Grand Slam.
Beaten in the third round of Roland Garros in May, the Niçoise will have had the merit of previously releasing the winner of the 2017 edition of the Parisian tournament, the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
“I’m like good wine, I age well, that’s what they say in France. I’m playing the best season of my career.”she said again, all smiles, after her victory against Iga Swiatek, before paying tribute to her opponent: “She is an incredible player, a very beautiful ambassador for women’s tennis. I’m very honored to have beaten her today. »
In the next round, Alizé Cornet will face Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (44e world player), who beat the Czech Barbora Krejcikova. Or precisely the opponent who had blocked his way during the last edition, after a match in three sets.
She now hopes that the match will be scheduled on Wimbledon’s number 1 court, on her “lucky short”, where she therefore twice beat a world number 1.