French tennis star Alize Cornet is all set to take on Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the first round of Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole. This is just the third edition of this clay tournament and it will take place at the Kindarena Sports Complex in Rouen between 15-21 April 2024. Both Cornet and Kalinina didn’t have a great start to their season this year, so they’ll look forward to making a deep run in this tournament. But there’s going to be only one winner from this enticing contest. Let’s see who has the edge in this faceoff.

Alize Cornet is an experienced campaigner, she made her professional debut on the Tour in 2006. But has managed to clinch only 6 titles so far in her singles career. While Anhelina Kalinina is a relative newcomer, she became the number one Ukrainian tennis player in 2022. Can the Ukranian disrupt the equations of the French tennis star in front of her home crowd?

Alize Cornet vs Anhelina Kalinina: Preview

The 34-year-old Alize Cornet had lost some sharpness from her game over the last few years. Her athleticism was her major weapon throughout her career, but now she looks a bit rusty on the courts. But having said that, one must not forget that she loves playing on the dirt and has a huge admiration for Rafael Nadal (37). Surely, she will find some inspiration from the ‘King of Clay’ before kick-starting her campaign in the clay courts of Rouen.

If we look at her records for this season, Cornet played her last match in Charleston where she was defeated by America’s Amanda Anisimova by 6-3,6-0 in the first round of the tournament. But the most surprising statistic from that contest was- she couldn’t manage to hit even a single ace in that match. Instead, committed 4 double faults throughout the match. Her win percentage on the first serve in that match was 58%, while it was only 36% on the second serve. Alize Cornet won 3 of her service games against Amanda Anisimova. 

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In 2024, her record with her serves hasn’t been too great. She has managed to hit 6 aces in her 5 matches so far but has committed 23 doubles faults. Cornet has won 56.4% of her service games so far. Her first serve win percentage is 60.1% and her return games win percentage is currently at 19.2%. She had her next results this year at the Winners Open, where she reached the R16. Can she improve her numbers with a top-notch performance against the Ukrainian?

Talking about her opponent, Anhelina Kalinina would love to silence the crowd right from the word go with an early lead in this epic contest. Even Kalinina has been quite inconsistent throughout the year so far. She was defeated by Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in her previous match at the R16 of the Charleston Open.

Surprisingly, even Kalinina failed to hit a single ace in that match but committed 2 double faults. Her first serve win percentage in that match was 33% while it was only 29% on the second serve. She failed to win even a single service game against the Russian. So, the better server will surely have an edge in this contest.

If we look at her record this year, she has played 18 matches so far and hit 24 aces, committed 47 double faults. She has won 59% of her service games and her first-serve win percentage is currently at 58.9%. Kalinina has won 35.2% of her return games. Her best performance this year came at the ATX Open where she reached the SF. How far can she go this time around in Rouen?

Cornet vs Kalinina: Head-to-Head

Both of them have faced each other only once in their careers. It was at the Charleston Open in 2022. In that match, Anhelina Kalinina had the last laugh, defeating the French by a 7-6(5),7-5 margin. In that match, both of them managed to hit a single ace each and also committed an equal number of double faults (3). Cornet’s win percentage on the first serve was 61%, and on the second serve, it was 39%. While Kalinina won 63% of her first serve and 52% of her second serve. Kalinina looks to be slightly ahead looking at the H2H stats.

But Anhelina Kalinina has never competed in this tournament before. Alize Cornet has already reached the SF of this tournament in 2023. So, this is going to be an interesting contest to watch for all the tennis fans.

Prediction: Kalinina to win in two sets

Despite favoring the hard court surfaces over any other surfaces and making her debut in the Open De Rouen, Anhelina Kalinina is still the favorite to win this match. It’s because of the firepower which she brings onto the court. Her strength and agility will surely come in handy for Kalinina against Cornet on the clay court. But having said that, one must not forget Cornet won her sole Grand Slam junior singles title at the 2007 French Open. Previously, she has also reached the fourth round of the clay court Grand Slam event in her career. 

So her experience is enormous on this surface. But if we look at her win-loss record for this season, it’s currently at 3-8. While Anhelina Kalinina has a win-loss record of 8-10 in this season. Looking at the current form and 7-year-age difference, the Ukrainian looks likely to swoosh into the next round in Rouen.