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Alize Cornet put up a serious fight that went the distance but came up short at the French Open Wednesday. Pauline Parmentier was the French star who came out with a big show of fight in the late stages to win 6-7(2) 6-4, 6-2 on Suzanne Lenglen Court at Roland Garros.
The battle between French players occurred for the world No. 34 as she viewed progress in the tournament.
The tension would be high, right from the start as each had much to prove. Cornet currently holds the series lead after five decisions. They both went the distance in their opening round to come into a pivotal match to see who the home crowd would stand behind.
They began the set on breaks before Cornet changed things up with a service hold in the third. Parmentier followed the path of her fellow Frenchwoman which has her attempting to answer Cornet’s service.
They went all the way to the tenth on service where at times the chances for a break were apparent but not accomplished by either player. With the opportunity to close the set out on her terms, Cornet smashed down a good offensive that kept her out front for a final time.
The pressure was on Parmentier to act in kind but found it troubling to remain firm. She faltered enough to give Cornet three set points. The 28-year-old blew all her chances on long balls behind the baseline of Parmentier giving the 32-year-old chances to force a tiebreak.
The players took the 12th game deep playing every point like it was their last. After ten minutes and three break chances, Parmentier got the result she wanted but still needed more in what turned into a lopsided tiebreak.
It started with Parmentier taking a 2-0 lead on Cornet before the problems of the world number 34 subsided for a time.
She gained the next four points taking a comfortable lead at 5-2. She got the win she wanted, gaining a set point with ease to end the opening set in 1 hour and 18 minutes.
Both had even stats but the difference was in unforced errors which Parmentier couldn’t keep low that resulted in her standing a set down instead.
She made it a mission to stay neck to neck with Cornet who now had to match the wins Parmentier put up for herself. They were deadlocked at eight with the crowd beginning to get behind the 32-year-old who was showing her strong service games.
She kept the lead in the ninth that put Cornet on the edge of losing the chance for straight sets. Parmentier responded terrifically against her French counterpart that sent them to a deciding third set after 54 minutes.
Parmentier fought to keep her winning streak alive against Cornet who made it difficult to earn the service hold.
She continued to fight for every game winning two more against Cornet who fought through only to find herself down with no score on the board of yet.
She began to get a grip on the set as a double break frustrated the 28-year-old who attempted to stay alive in the sixth with a bagel looming over her.
Cornet avoided the embarrassment, but was still under the gun as Parmentier served for the match in the seventh.
The 32-year-old got into trouble with the backhand errors that gave Cornet another game to play smacking a winner down. The victory was a big moment as the third hour went into the books for the French showdown happening, but a winner wasn’t yet determined.
Cornet served the seventh but was under attack as Parmentier pressed to put an end to her night with a smash win in front of the net to end the three hour and four minute battle.
With a long night coming to a close for the unseeded Frenchwoman, she’ll await her match on Friday when he goes against world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki.
