The tennis world was in for a shock when former World No. 11 Alize Cornet upset Simona Halep in their round 4 bout at the Australian Open. Going into the match, Halep was the clear favorite as the fourteenth seed in the tournament.

However, Cornet held her ground and defeated the Romanian star 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Now, she is through to the quarter-finals. In fact, this would be Cornet’s first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final match.

Simona Halep congratulates Alize Cornet on a hard-fought victory

After the match, Simona Halep was humble in defeat. She took to Instagram to congratulate Alize Cornet on their match.

“You have been stronger today!” Halep wrote on Instagram, addressing Alize. Additionally, she expressed her respect for the 32-year-old, writing “All the respect for you @alizecornet“.

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Then, addressing how long their bout took under the sweltering sun, Halep joked about the next time the two would meet. “I’ll keep working to get better for another 3 hrs match when we meet again,” Halep joked.

Clearly, the length of the match and the beatdown from the Australian sun proved to be too much for both players. Cornet had called the heat “inhumane” during the match, while Halep constantly tried catching her breath or standing in the shade for however long she could to recuperate her stamina.

Watch: Alize Cornet Breaks Down as She Creates New Record at Grand Slams After Defeating Simona Halep at Australian Open 2022

Their fourth-round tie was the fifth time the two had been meeting. In fact, this was the first time the two players played each other in six years. Cornet has now won 4 out of 5 matches against Simona Halep, a resounding 80 percent success rate against the Romanian.

Cornet broke down after her first quarter-final entry

Alize Cornet headed into the match as the underdog. However, she took the first set off of Simona Halep by breaking her serve. Thus, as they entered the second set, Halep had everything to lose.

Naturally, backed into the corner, Halep persevered, breaking Alize’s serve twice to win the set 6-3. The third set saw Cornet dialed-in, consciously ensuring that she limited her double faults to a minimum. Finally, it paid dividends, as the ball hit the net on Halep’s return, and Cornet fell to the ground in victory.

There were tears all around the court, as Alize talked about the relentless heat and finally making it to her first quarter-final. Later on, she shared how the reason for her tears was her relief. “I knew it was over. This match was so hard with the heat and the demons of the past,” Cornet expressed.

This was Alize Cornet’s seventeenth Australian Open appearance. Moreover, it is also now the very first time she has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final. Do you think this just might become the Frenchwoman’s first-ever Grand Slam victory?

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