Alize Cornet defeated Simona Halep in a 3 set thriller. On a hot day and even hotter on-court action, Cornet pushed herself to a great extent to grab the win. Later, dropped to her knees; hold her face tight with both hands. It took her a while to soak up the feeling of joy and achievement. But the efforts and the result were worthy of the emotional outburst.

When asked about her emotional breakdown and tears, she replied “That’s who I am. I can’t hide my true nature. So um… if I am a drama queen for the people then I’m.” She added, “What I know is that I gave everything I have on the court, and I think that’s why sometimes there is some drama”

Cornet was playing in her 17th Australian open tournament and 63rd overall in the Grand Slams. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t clear the 4th round in any of those 62 tournaments. Before coming into this series, she only had one intention; to make it to the quarterfinals at least.

Just 2 days after celebrating her 32nd birthday, she got the best gift for herself, by winning her 4th round match. With this win, she set a unique record of qualifying for the quarterfinals in 63 attempts. Previous record holder Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand took 45 attempts.

“After 16 years on the tour, I never gave up,” she said. “It’s never too late to try again!” Cornet added in her on-court TV interview. “To be in my first quarterfinal. It’s a dream come true. The journey goes on. I still can’t believe it.”

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Jelena Docic was interviewing her after the match, but before the interview she gave her a tight and warm hug, expressing her feeling towards Cornet’s win. She explained Cornet’s tears and emotions after the game. In the 2009 Australian Open, when Docic looked certain to play against Cornet in the quarterfinals, Alize couldn’t make it into the quarters, losing out against Safina.

Emotions, Drama, and Victory for Alize Cornet in the match

The match provided everything that any sports movie could give its audience. Both players were playing their hearts out for a point under the scorching Sun. It was around 35 degrees temperature during the game. Cornet said “The battle we had with Simone, with this heat. After 30 minutes, we were dying.”

After losing the 1st set, Simona Halep erased the 1-3 deficit and won the second set 6-3. The decider set had more ups and downs for Cornet as cramping Halep played extra-ordinary Tennis saving 2 breakpoints in the 9th game. But Cornet delivered her best in the 10th game, serving for the match.

The 2 hr 30 min match ended in joy for Cornet and her support team. World number 61 Cornet will now face Danielle Collins, who also had a comeback win over Elise Mertens.