She is on cloud nine. French tennis player Alizé Cornet created a sensation on Tuesday August 30 in New York, playing the 1er round of the US Open. Not only has the 32-year-old from Nice become, with her first racket shot of the match, the player who has played the greatest number of Grand Slam tournaments in a row (63), but she took the opportunity to offer herself, by two sets only, Emma Raducanu’s scalp, 11e world player and defending champion (6-3, 6-3).
For her first confrontation with the Briton, Alizé Cornet (40e) overcame his chronic clumsiness on serve (9 double faults), dominating the exchanges thanks to his aggressiveness (22 winning shots against 15) and the unforced errors of his opponent (30 against 22).
.@alizecornet is victorious in Armstrong! She defeats Raducanu, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to Round 2. https://t.co/RHAd0zCBxv
” All my heart “
“I put my heart into it, the atmosphere [du court Louis-Armstrong] was great and I’m very happy to have won”commented the French. “I am more mature and I manage to better manage my emotions”she underlined to explain the good results she posted this year in the Majors.
In Australia, at the very beginning of the year, she reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time in her career. She was then beaten at 3e round at Roland-Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where she had dismissed world number one, Iga Swiatek, in the third round, thus ending a series of 37 consecutive victories for the Pole.
Alizé Cornet also entered the top 5 of the best French players in August, with more than 500 victories during her career. She will face in the next round the Czech Katerina Siniakova (83e) to get a 504e tournament victory. And stay on his cloud.
The feat also for Clara Burel, the discomfiture for Benoît Paire
The French Clara Burel, 131e world and from the qualifications, also shone on Tuesday on the New York courts by releasing the winner of the last Wimbledon, the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (25e) with the score of 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old Frenchwoman was eliminated this season in the first round of the first three Grand Slam tournaments. Her best Major result to date is the third round reached in Paris in 2020. She will face Belgian Alison van Uytvanck (43e) in the next turn.
In the men’s draw, Frenchman Richard Gasquet joined Corentin Moutet, Arthur Rinderknech, Benjamin Bonzi and Hugo Grenier on 2e round. Rated 91e world, Gasquet dropped a set but overcame the crushing humid heat of New York to dismiss the Japanese Taro Daniel (95e) in four innings and 3:17 (6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2, 6-2). At 36, he who reached the last four at Flushing Meadows in 2013, he will be opposed to 2e turn to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (36e).
The other three Frenchmen of the day were eliminated: the defeat of Benoît Paire (173e) against Briton Cameron Norrie (9e) was predictable, but the 6-0, 7-6 (7/1), 6-0 scoreline is puzzling. Adrian Mannarino (45e), despite winning last week at Winston Salem, was beaten 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 by Dutchman Gijs Brouwer (181e) from qualifications. And Enzo Couacaud (193e) lost in five sets (6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 4-6, 7-5) against Croatian Borna Coric (29th). Coming from the qualifications, he nevertheless served for the match at 5-3 in the last set after being led two sets to nil.