Francesca Schiavone downs Alize Cornet to claim the title – Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012
Former French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, regained her form right in time for the Roland Garros, as she defeated France’s Alize Cornet in twin sets 6-4, 6-4 in the final to lift the Internationaux de Strasbourg
title in France on Saturday.
Schiavone and Cornet broke each other on a number of occasions in the opener. The Italian broke Cornet in the very first game of the match and went up 2-0 but the Frenchwoman bounced back to level it at 2-2. Schiavone clinched
three in a row afterwards to race to a 5-2 lead. Cornet tried to make a comeback by winning the following two but her efforts ended there and she dropped it 4-6.
The Italian was lucky to win despite serving poorly, as she did not hit any ace and committed a couple of double faults in the opening set. She managed to put in just 45 percent of the first deliveries and won 10 of the 14 points
on them. The 31-year-old also fared badly on the second ones, losing nine of the 17 points.
Schiavone and Cornet exchanged a break of serve in the first six games of the second set to level the score at 3-3. The Italian struck again in the ninth and capitalised on it to win 6-4.
The 12th could not make much improvement in her serve, as she could not deliver any ace and made two double faults. She increased her first serve percentage to 53 but once again dropped nine of the 17 points on them.
However, the Italian saved two of the three break points she faced and converted two of the five she received in the second set.
It took Schiavone only an hour and 43 minutes to claim victory over her French opponent.
After the match, the Italian said, "I haven't played my best for a while. When I go home and go out to dinner, people say I'm sad. I say, 'I keep losing first round. Should I be happy?' Now they are writing for me to keep going
and winning more."
She added, "In this tournament, in the most important moments, I was there. It has been a long time since I've felt that. It's a great feeling and I want to keep going this way. I'm happy again. I'm feeling the sensation of fighting
and feeling the pain, and really enjoying my game again."
This was Schiavone’s fifth title of her career and first of this season.
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