Cornet makes Slam quarter on 63rd attempt
French veteran Alize Cornet declared "I'm not gonna stop now" after upsetting Simona Halep in brutal heat at the Australian Open Monday to make her first Grand Slam quarter-final on her 63rd attempt.
Both players struggled as the temperatures hit 33 Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) on Rod Laver Arena, but it was the 32-year-old who prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a gruelling 2hr 33min.
She will now play 27th-seeded Danielle Collins for a place in the semis after the American outlasted Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a near three-hour epic.
The breakthrough has been a long time coming for Cornet, who made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open in 2005 but had never been past the fourth round before.
Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn previously held the record for most appearances before reaching a quarter-final at this level, achieving the feat on her 45th try at Wimbledon in 2008.
"After 16 years on the tour, I never give up. Today I realised this goal that was very important to me for a while," said Cornet, who upset world number three Garbine Muguruza in round two.
"After beating a few big names, Muguruza, today Halep, they are all players that I admire a lot. I don't know what happened in the past, and really, honestly, right now I don't care."
Asked what her goals were now after reaching a first quarter-final, Cornet replied: "Going further."
"I mean, I'm not gonna stop now.
"I'm still ambitious. I just have to soak it in, you know, take time to appreciate the moment and be proud of what I did today.
"But definitely from tomorrow I will have to think about my next match and how I can go farther in the tournament.
"The sky's the limit. For the first time of my life, I really believe I can go till the end."
The pair traded breaks in an attritional opening set before Cornet sealed it in 48 minutes that took their toll.
She needed an ice bag on her head, drank as much fluid as she could at the changeover and her hand appeared to be shaking.
Halep was also distressed in the heat, constantly bending over to catch her breath, but somehow persevered to take the second set as Cornet berated the umpire: "It's insane, it's inhuman.”
The Romanian worked a break point at 3-2 in the final set but failed to convert and tossed her racquet away in disgust.
Instead it was Cornet who struck to move a break up at 4-3 as Halep netted a backhand with the Frenchwoman dropping to her knees in exhaustion three games later after clinching victory.
-
When Are Next西安媒体关注寻找“熊猫宝贝”活动Now you can ask 'Be Mine?' with a custom Snapchat filterPresidential office puts more weight behind exUS Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free学习茶技 演唱主题曲暑假孩子“泡”书店家长很放心雨城区总工会给工人送防暑降温用品Abrar Ahmed returns as Pakistan names squad for second Test against BangladeshAmazon opens a compact version of its Go store in its Seattle HQ
下一篇:[From the Scene] How ‘world’s first oil town’ is wrestling to become ‘green'
- ·NCT member Taeil leaves band over sexual offense allegations
- ·Police arrest suspect in killing of three Koreans in Philippines
- ·Facebook pushes back on claims that outside fact
- ·Tumblr will ban all adult content on Dec. 17
- ·13 Astronomical Clocks Connecting Time And Space
- ·The best sleep tracking devices
- ·紧急!水稻病虫来势凶猛谨防水稻大规模减产
- ·Samsung appears to post product page for the Galaxy S8 Plus
- ·13 Astronomical Clocks Connecting Time And Space
- ·'Project Runway' got awkward after a contestant mentioned the Kushners
- ·World Cup helping heal flood wounds
- ·五一假期不宅家!跟着“深汕友农”公交一起去打卡
- ·DNC 2024 speech: Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have a superpower no other Democrat has.
- ·Facebook faces lawsuit from U.S. regulators over Cambridge Analytica
- ·Kane fit to face USA: Southgate
- ·US urges UNSC action to punish NK over recent provocations, China and Russia again refuse
- ·The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
- ·Samsung has a 5G prototype phone with a corner notch
- ·@广东桑蚕产业人员,收好这份桑园洪涝灾后重建的对策和措施
- ·PDF fail reveals Facebook considered selling access to data
- ·夜间献血模式“上线”
- ·我省一大熊猫画院即将在雅成立
- ·@广东桑蚕产业人员,收好这份桑园洪涝灾后重建的对策和措施
- ·武警雅安市支队 举办文艺汇演庆八一
- ·雅安市举办首届“文轩教育”校园足球精英夏令营
- ·西安媒体关注寻找“熊猫宝贝”活动
- ·Black Friday GPU Buying Guide: November GPU Pricing Update
- ·'Project Runway' got awkward after a contestant mentioned the Kushners
- ·Man killed after lying down on road, heavily drunk
- ·Senior diplomats of S. Korea, US and Japan to discuss NK nuclear issue
- ·Value Judgment
- ·“海宝”提前与观众见面
- ·Apple TV 4K is the most essential product Apple makes
- ·Presidential office puts more weight behind ex
- ·18 Slightly Submerged Architectural Wonders
- ·Amazon opens a compact version of its Go store in its Seattle HQ