“I was not ready to play” Simona Halep REVEALS the reason behind her defeat to Alize Cornet at the 2022 Australian Open
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Simona Halep and Alize Cornet
14th seed at the tournament and a favourite coming into the match, Simona Halep was taken down in 3-sets by World No. 61 Alize Cornet on a hot morning on the Rod Laver Arena at the 2022 Australian Open. Cornet won the battle 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 33 minutes to pick up her 3rd straight win over the Romanian.
The win took Cornet into her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final after a long wait as she is currently playing in her 63rd main-draw appearance at a major and her 60th consecutive major. Simona managed to defend two match points in the 3rd set but the third time was the charm for the Frenchwoman as she finished the match on the winning side.
Halep won 93 points having 0 aces, 1 double fault, 27 winners, 41 unforced errors and winning 6 of her 11 breakpoints. Cornet from the other side of the net had 1 ace, 9 double faults, 22 winners, 46 unforced errors and won 6 of her 12 breakpoints to finish with 88 points. Despite winning 5 points less, she won the match as she earned the crucial points that changed the course of the match.
“I have only nice words about her, because I like her on the court, how she’s fighting. She deserves what is happening to her now. She works hard all the time, and I wish her good luck. I really want her to make this dream come true. She was a little bit stronger, and that’s why she could win the match,” said Simona during her press conference as she loses her first match this season and is now 8-1 in 2022.
“I felt sick” Simona Halep talks about the conditions on court
With the Australian summer, the heat is always a challenge for the players in the morning session and the sun was blazing out today as both the players looked visibly tired during the final few games of the third set. Simona was often seen bent down and holding her knees and failed to reach the ball due to being exhausted in the heat.
“I have no injury. This is good. Only the heat got me actually early in the first set. I felt sick, felt a little bit dizzy. It’s tough to play in the heat, and I was not ready today,” added Simona further after a tiring day out on the court where Cornet also said, “the conditions were hard after 30 minutes we both were dying on the court. And we kept going for two and half hours with all our hearts.”
While Cornet advances into the next round where she will meet Danielle Collins, Halep can now recover and prepare for the upcoming Tour events that begin from February 1.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)