This year’s French Open is steeped with emotion as farewells seem to be on the cards for Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal and then, on Tuesday, to home favourite Alizé Cornet, who lost her 1st-round match and bid goodbye to her beloved Roland Garros.
It’s been a difficult day with a lot of emotion. It’s a 20-year page that I’m turning and I’m going to a new chapter in my life. I wish I could have played better, but I gave everything I could to this sport. Alizé Cornet
It is fitting that the feisty 34-year old Frenchwoman chose Paris for her final Grand Slam appearance, and there were, of course, tears.
Always eager to cause an upset, Cornet orchestrated 25 Top 10 wins in her career, spanning multiple generations of players and nearly two decades, but Zheng Qinwen, her opponent on Court Philippe-Chatrier, was determined not to be added to her formidable list.
The Australian Open finalist from China dealt with the occasion coolly to end Cornet’s career, 6-2 6-1, in an hour and 23 minutes.
“I’d like to be remembered as a genuine player who shared all her emotions with everyone all throughout her career with a fighting spirit,” Cornet told the press later. “Someone who is a passionate tennis player, who likes to fight and who could die for it.
“I think I showed it several times, that it was actually my type of character. People may love me or not for that type of personality, actually, but this is what brought me until here.”
She was greeted by huge cheers from the stands before even the first point had been played, but it was Zheng who controlled the tempo of the match throughout.
The 21-year-old tallied 25 winners to 19 unforced errors, successfully using her raw power to keep Cornet at bay.
The Frenchwoman roused local hopes briefly in the first set as she pulled back from 4-0 down to 4-2, and showed of her array of defensive spins and angles as she dragged Zheng into some excellent exchanges.
The curtain came down on Cornet’s career, which ended with her record 69th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance.
World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka got off the mark with a convincing win over Erika Andreeva on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday at the French Open
Aryna Sabalenka, the World No 2, followed on Chatrier, the roof closed on a cold, rainy day in Paris that saw no play on the outside courts until late afternoon.
The Belarusian took on Erica Andreeva, the elder of the Russian sisters, for the first time, having twice beaten younger sister Mirra, and breezed through the opening set before ultimately advancing in 68 minutes, 6-1 6-2.
“It was great match, great start for me,” Sabalenka said after the match. “I think I was focusing on myself the whole game…
In these conditions, I just prepare myself for long rallies, and I’m not trying to hit bigger, because if you hit bigger it brings more unforced errors, which is not really something I’m looking to. I’m just preparing myself mentally that it’s going to be longer points and it’s going to take more shots to finish the point.”
Madison Keys led the American charge on Tuesday with a straight sets win over Renata Zarazua at Roland Garros
There was success for 3 out of the 4 Americans in action on Tuesday, with wins for Madison Keys, Emma Navarro and Peyton Stearns, but former US Open Sloane Stephens bowed out late in the evening.
14th seed Keys was a 6-3 6-2 winner over Renata Zarazua from Mexico, while Navarro, seeded 22, dispatched Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez, 6-2 6-0, and Stearns edged her way past Croatian qualifier Lucja Ciric Bagaric, 6-3 6-7(8) 7-6(6), after 2 hours and 27 minutes.
