France’s Future: Alize Cornet
Posted by Paula Vergara on Aug 31, 2008 | Print |
FLUSHING MEADOWS, New York—I think we can all agree that women’s tennis is in a state of flux right now. We’re all waiting for that “female” Roger Federer to emerge from the pack–a dominant, singles player who can do wonders with a tennis racquet.
But the wait is getting painful.
It may be time to switch gears and look at the bigger picture–which countries are dominating women’s tennis these days? Russia and the United States are at the forefront, but with 13 French players at this year’s US Open, it is clear that the competition is heating up.
France’s new-comer, Alize Cornet may just be the next great sensation to come out of France, right on the heels of another Frenchwoman, former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo.
Cornet, an 18 year old who currently holds the No 17 spot, is having a tremendous year, making it to the third round at the Olympics against Serena Williams, making it all the way to the semis in New Haven, and recently making it to the third round of the US Open, falling to Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-4, 7-5.
Is there a changing of the guard on the horizon? Despite Mauresmo’s success this year (including her comeback at the US Open), the 29 year old has faced chronic injuries in recent years and is fast approaching the end of her career.
Cornet is just getting started, but seems to think that it’s too soon to be talking about a changing of the guard when talking about her compatriot.
“I’m happy because she’s playing good,” says Cornet. “She’s playing better and better.”
“It’s not done, really. I’m ranked 17 and she’s 35, but I think she can have a better ranking after this year’s US Open. I like this girl,” says Cornet. “She’s nice and (I am) glad that she’s coming back now. There’s no rivalry. It’s a fair competition between us.”
Growing up in France, Cornet became a clay court specialist early on and now has proved to the world that she has what it takes to succeed on hard courts.
“Of course I feel more comfortable on clay, because clay is my favorite surface, so hard courts are different.”
Although she had success on clay, originally Cornet was concerned about how her game would translate to hard courts.
“When I finished my clay season, I was not so confident, because I had so much good results on clay,” says Cornet. “Finally, I just had three good tournaments–Olympic Games, New Haven and here, so it really makes me really confident for the rest of the hard season. I have to work again, but I really think I can improve my game on hard and it can be very good for my game.”
While in New Haven, Cornet was playing with a taped thigh, but during her matches at the US Open, Cornet felt a bit better. “It was ok. I felt that on my first match against Camille Pin. I think I’m going to take a few holidays before going to Tokyo, and everything’s going to be ok.”
Does she feel any pressure to represent her country?
“You know, you just play for yourself. Of course, you represent your country. When you’re on the court, you don’t think about that. You just don’t want to lose.”
Paula Vergara is an experienced tennis journalist, who has worked as a regular contributor to On the Baseline Tennis News, USTA New England Magazine, and New England Sports Magazine. To view her work, visit her blog at www.paula-vergara.blogspot.com.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Alice | Sep 1, 2008 | Reply
Cornet has a bright future in the sport.
It’s a Pity that the woman who’s been French number 1 for over a year is absent from the article.
PaulaV | Sep 1, 2008 | Reply
Alice,
From what I understand, Marion Bartoli didn’t compete in the Olympics and didn’t play Fed Cup.The focus here was on the person who would carry the French flag into the future, and not so much about who’s No. 1
Diane | Sep 2, 2008 | Reply
Alize is a firecracker. She will only get better.