Alizé Cornet in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open: the victory of perseverance and liberation

Virginie Phulpin 07:24, January 24, 2022

Alizé Cornet is in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The French beat Simona Halep a few minutes ago in Melbourne. This is the best result of his career, at 32 years old. The victory of perseverance and liberation.

On your knees, eyes blurred with emotion. Seems not to believe it. Alizé Cornet made us start the week with a big croaking this morning. We had never seen her more serene on a tennis court than at the start of the year 2022. As if the shadow of the end of her career gave her wings. As if the weight of the pressure were less heavy approaching the end point. The French celebrated her 32nd birthday on Saturday. She is playing her 60th Grand Slam tournament in a row, two units from the absolute record she intends to beat this year. An impressive regularity for this relentless work. It just lacked that little extra that she just got this morning. A place in the quarter-finals of a grand slam. The big 8, this thrill that makes you familiar with the great players of this world. She overcame Simona Halep,former world number 1. So not everything was easy, otherwise it wouldn't really be Alizé Cornet. She had the match in hand, before doubting, letting the second set slip away to finally win in three sets. A marathon as she adores them. And the victory of a liberated player.

Alizé Cornet wrote about it in her autobiography released a few months ago.

His perfectionism, his desire to do well has often ruined his life.

Writing acted as therapy for her.

And today, when everyone asks her if it's her last season, she smiles, she says she doesn't forbid herself anything.

And that's what I want to remember.

That the player now manages to refrain from anything.

Neither to reach the heights, nor to finally be indulgent with herself.

And she gets the best result of her career when she's been on the circuit for 17 years.

We discovered Alizé Cornet when she was only 15 years old. It was at Roland Garros in 2005. She was the youngest player in the running, and she had passed a round before finding herself facing her idol Amélie Mauresmo, the one whose posters she collected above her bed. The story was beautiful, and the girl found herself directly in the spotlight. Not always easy to live with. Since then, she has made her way. But she had never made it to the quarter-finals of a grand slam. Yes, you can reach the peak of a career even when you reach the end. We can swap precocity records for records of longevity, consistency, and add the little icing on the cake when you have just celebrated your 32nd birthday.

Alizé Cornet is now a player, a fulfilled woman.

She is interested in the world around her, she defends Peng Shuai, finds a nice word for Djokovic.

And accept that you don't always do everything perfectly.

The victory of maturity.