Alize Cornet topples Patty Schnyder in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open
French qualifier Alize Cornet had a surprise victory over the world number 39 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday evening. Ranked 70th in the world, Cornet took down her opponent
in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, taking just 74 minutes of play to book a berth in the second round.
The 21-year-old Cornet exhibited her magnificent tennis skills to eject the Swiss veteran form the event. Although Cornet’s serve percentage was very similar to her opponent’s, her point winning proficiency proved the vital difference. The French player
won 63 per cent first serve points in the contest while her opponent lagged far behind with a mere 32 per cent.
Schnyder had a sloppy start to the game and failed to build up pace to compete with Cornet. Her footwork was static and her strokes missed their marks on regularity. Cornet was far more agile than the Swiss competitor and a difference of 11 years of age
between the two opponents was clearly highlighted.
Cornet anticipated Schnyder’s moves very well. It was expected that the left-handed angling serve of Schnyder will create some problems for Cornet, but it did not actually happen. Cornet met her opponent’s serve with ease and broke her at eight different
occasions, as she cut down the angles of her opponent’s strokes and had an excellent return game in the match, winning 67 per cent return points.
Cornet ignited the opener in aggressive fashion and despite having a lower serve percentage of 46 she bagged 100 percent of her serve points, as the player crafted four break opportunities in the first set and availed three out of them.
The French player broke immediately in the first set to lead 3-1 early. Once getting into the momentum, Cornet kept cruising through the set with minimum resistance from her opponent. Schnyder’s bleak serve led her down in the set and her opponent further
stung two serve breaks to seal the first set at 6-1.
Closing the opener assertively, Cornet looked very positive in the following set. Schnyder got her eye in the game and bounced back strongly to break serve immediately. An amazing series of serve breaks was seen in the second set, with both players registering
eight consecutive break points.
The Frenchwoman got nine break chances in the second set alone and a total of 13 in the contest. The score-board kept ticking on even terms, reaching 4-4 before Cornet delivered the final blow to her competitor. Cornet struck her fifth serve break of the
set to lead 5-4 and then served out comprehensively at 6-4 to conclude the match.
Cornet will face the 30th seeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round match-up of the Paribas Open. Pironkova entered the second round of the tournament by getting a bye.
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