The Azuréennes had a meeting on the clay courts of Rouen this afternoon. Unfortunately, neither Fiona Ferro nor Alizé Cornet managed to prevail.
It had been a month since Fiona Ferro’s last victory on the circuit. Engaged in the qualification tournament of the WTA 250 in Rouen, the Valbonnaise made a strong impression to enter the main draw. Against Manon Leonard and Timea Babos, she did not waste time, winning easily in two sets each time.
But against Elina Avanesyan (world No. 67, 21 years old), things got a bit more complicated. Dominated in the first set, Fiona Ferro (world No. 144, 27 years old) lacked bite on her initial service games. With a double break in hand from the start of the match, the young Russian rolled through to take the first set (6-2).
The rest of the match was much closer. Fiona Ferro did not relent under the pressure exerted on her return. More settled in her game, the Azuréenne managed to unsettle her opponent, particularly on the second serve. The Frenchwoman became more aggressive, and it eventually paid off. She evened the match by taking the second set (6-1).
The third set was very tense. Both players were nervous and committed errors. Despite a very good first serve percentage, Fiona Ferro struggled to sustain rallies. Slightly behind, she managed to come back when the match seemed over. But it only delayed the inevitable. She eventually succumbed (6-2/1-6/7-5) despite a good level of play.
Alizé Cornet Can’t Find a Way Out
Eight. That’s the number of consecutive defeats for Alizé Cornet. The Niçoise, who received a wild card from the organizers, could not stop this concerning negative streak. Facing Anhelina Kalinina (27 years old, world No. 32), the task didn’t seem impossible. However, the Frenchwoman failed to put in the necessary ingredients to thwart the Ukrainian. A player capable of both the best and the worst lately, with very inconsistent results. A bit like the first set, in which both players made plenty of errors. Although Alizé Cornet led for most of this first set, it was ultimately Anhelina Kalinina who took the upper hand towards the end (6-4).
Losing confidence, the Niçoise did not give up in the second set. Breaks followed from both sides. It seemed that the victory would go to whoever managed to hold their serve. But with seven double faults in this second set, Alizé Cornet couldn’t hope for much. She still managed to save five match points at 5-4 to extend the suspense a little longer. Despite a strong desire to do well, she eventually fell (6-4/7-5) in over two hours of play.
