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Alize Cornet defeated Iga Swiatek in the third round of Wimbledon on Saturday, ending the World No. 1's remarkable 37-match win streak. The 32-year-old Frenchwoman beat the Pole 6-4, 6-2 in 93 minutes to go through to the round-of-16 at SW19 for the first time since 2014.
Cornet jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to two early breaks and held Swiatek off from there. She made just five unforced errors, while Swiatek misfired on 17 in the first set.
Iga Swiatek looked like she was mounting a comeback in the second set when she broke early for a 2-0 lead. However, unforced errors meant Swiatek gave back her advantage and Cornet did not look back, winning the last six games to end the contest.
Speaking in her on-court post-match interview, the 32-year-old said she is having one of the best seasons of her career and that she was aging like fine wine.
“You know I am like good wine, good wine always ages well. I'm playing one of the best seasons of my career. I feel great on the court, I'm having so much fun and I feel good physically. Eight years later after my first qualification to the second week, I'm still here. I'm still very motivated and have the fire in me,” Cornet said.
Cornet finished the match with 17 winners to just seven unforced errors, while Swiatek fired 21 winners and 33 unforced errors. The World No. 37 said that she has been preparing hard for the game and went into the contest with a belief that Swiatek could be beaten.
“I think that this kind of match I'm living for, that’s what I have been practising for every day. I think I was just believing very hard and was very focused. It's a really nice feeling right now and I need to process it because [in my head] I feel like I'm still playing the match somehow. I'm not completely realizing what's happening right now,” Cornet said.
Ajla Tomljanovic now stands between Cornet and a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
"On grass, she feels a little less comfortable than on other surfaces" - Alize Cornet on Iga Swiatek
Alize Cornet praised Iga Swiatek for her incredible run and confessed that she was a huge fan of the 21-year-old Pole.
“I want to say I'm a huge fan of Iga. She's just so talented and she's such an amazing player and such a nice ambassador of women's tennis. I'm just very flattered that I beat her today,” Cornet said.
Though Iga Swiatek looked unbeatable on hard courts and clay, the 21-year-old was vocal about having to find her feet on grass. Speaking about the win, Cornet said that she knew she had the chance to cause an upset against the Pole on this surface.
“I knew I could do it, somehow I had this belief. Even though she had 37 wins in a row. I was like if there is a moment you can beat her is now. On grass she feels a little less comfortable than on other surfaces,” Cornet explained.
