Alize Cornet might not have turned out to be the great star the French Federation was desperately looking for, but even so, she remains a pretty dangerous player, especially on clay, her favourite surface. She proved it last year when she came to life during the clay-court season, reaching her first WTA final in four years in Strasbourg. The result sparked some more good performances, the most important being the title she won on the Austrian clay, in Bad Gastein.
Having failed to lift the Strasbourg crown at the first time of asking, Alize knew she had to bring her A game in order to finally complete the home soil duty. The draw worked in her favour and, following a string of early upsets, the Frenchwoman, seeded 3, remained the highest seed left through to the quarterfinals. With her main rivals out of the way, she took full advantage of the situation battling her way to a second successive final after an epic 7-5,6-7,6-3 semifinal victory over young Canadian, Eugenie Bouchard. If last year she lost to former French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone, this time she was determined not to let the opportunity slip by. The first set of the final was extremely tight, but after she won it in a tie-break, she was unstoppable. Her opponent, Czech Lucie Hradecka, was unable to win another game. An inspired Cornet claimed a sensational 7-6,6-0 victory to the delight the home fans who were cheering for her. She is just the second Frenchwoman to claim the Strasbourg title, after Aravane Rezai, who was successful in 2009.
I always suspected the French of lacking a winner's attitude. Alize proved me wrong with her triumph today, and hopefully more of her talented compatriots will copy her example. As for Alize, she will probably look to continue her winning streak at Roland Garros, where she has a pretty accessible path to a third round showdown with Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka.
I always suspected the French of lacking a winner's attitude. Alize proved me wrong with her triumph today, and hopefully more of her talented compatriots will copy her example. As for Alize, she will probably look to continue her winning streak at Roland Garros, where she has a pretty accessible path to a third round showdown with Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka.
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| After falling to Francesca Schiavone in last year's final, French Alize Cornet completed the home duty this year, beating Czech Lucie Hradecka, 7-6,6-0 to win the title in Strasbourg. |
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