Alizé Cornet can’t be stopped. On her return to competition at the WTA 125 tournament in La Bisbal d’Emporda, the Nice-native battled to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Alizé Cornet’s comeback continues in Spain. At the La Bisbal d’Emporda tournament, the Nice-native had already won her first match on Tuesday. An encouraging return against a player not widely known to the public.
After a day of rest, Alizé Cornet was back on the court for a clash of a different caliber. Facing Swiss Susan Bandecchi (26 years old, world No. 199), the level increased a notch. The two players had already faced off in 2023 (a victory for Susan Bandecchi).
Right from the start, Alizé Cornet was in trouble. The Azuréenne couldn’t find the right rhythm on serve and suffered the opponent’s return. Quickly down (3-0), she managed to stabilize and tie at (3-3), only to be broken twice again. With only 40% of points won on her serve, it was difficult to compete, especially since the Swiss seemed comfortable on her first serve. As a result, Alizé Cornet lost the first set (3-6).
The return of marathon matches
The start of the second set was identical for the Maralpine. But on the other side, Susan Bandecchi’s first serve was less effective from the middle of the second set. At (4-1), the match shifted in favor of Alizé Cornet, who switched back to fighter mode. The Nice-native imposed a five-zero run and equalized at one set all (6-4).
The third set turned into a true battle. Less effective, Susan Bandecchi could no longer make a difference on her first serve. On her part, Alizé Cornet was feeling the physical toll. But as usual, the Nice-native didn’t give up and fought for every point. She managed to save ten break points to ultimately conclude the match as the winner (3-6/6-4/7-5) in nearly three hours of play.
It can be concluded that the preparation was good for Alizé Cornet, but nothing replaces the intensity of a tennis match. Tomorrow she will face a player of a whole different caliber, the Hungarian Dalma Galfi, who is regularly in the top 100. It remains to be seen how Alizé Cornet will have recovered for this quarter-final.