Alize Cornet trounces Sacha Jones to reach quarters – Nurnberger Gastein Ladies 2012
French rising star, Alize Cornet, stomped over the Australian challenger, Sacha Jones, in straight sets at the Nurnberger Gastein Ladies 2012 on Thursday. She formulated a 6-3, 6-2 victory against the 21-year-old to book a spot in the final eight at this
WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level event taking place from 9th to 17th June in Bad Gastein.
Seeded seventh in the tournament, Cornet proved her class and triumphed over the world number 212 in their first encounter. After stealing the spotlight in one hour and 36 minutes, the French not only edged in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the Aussie
but also stayed on track to bid for her second WTA career title.
Cornet made a well-built start at this red clay court tournament and drew the first blood in the opening game to jump to a 3-1 lead. Despite squandering her edge in the very next game, she held remaining serves and got the breakthrough in the eighth game.
The French blocked one out of two breakpoints she faced and capitalised on two out of seven break chances to inch towards the glory.
Ranked 73rd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Cornet perfected her game in the proceeding set. After Jones held her serve in the opening game, the French unleashed her skill and went on a five-game killing spree. She then plucked her serve once more
and clicked the set by winning six games to two.
All in all, the 22-year-old clobbered an equal first serve share of 63 per cent but took full advantage of the seven double faults her rival committed. She also impressively marked 32 out of 40 points in her first serve share and sought 11 break opportunities.
Next up for Cornet is the Spanish contender, Estrella Cabeza Candela, who dumped the Dutch qualifier, Richel Hogenkamp, in straight sets to progress at this event.
Third seed, Ksenia Pervak, will accompany Cornet in the following round. She required one hour and 14 minutes to formulate a 6-2, 6-3 success. The Kazakh swiftly held her entire serves without facing any breakpoint and capitalised on four out of seven break
chances to earn the glory.
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