“She helped me transition and be comfortable on the Tour” Leylah Fernandez pays a fitting tribute to doubles partner Alize Cornet
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Leylah Fernandez and Alize Cornet
Leylah Fernandez and Alize Cornet have paired up in the Women’s Doubles at the ongoing 2022 Indian Wells Open. Along with their singles commitments, they are also challenging for the doubles title. While Cornet is out of the singles, Leylah is still in the race for the WTA-1000 title.
They caused a massive upset, knocking out the second seeds, Samantha Stosur and Shuai Zhang, in a hard-fought match. They later defeated Vera Zvonareva and Laura Siegemund to make their way into the quarter-finals. Leylah opened up about her bonding with Tour veteran Cornet giving the fans a beautiful insight into their friendship.
Leylah Fernandez leaves heartfelt message for Alize Cornet
It was the 2021 Indian Wells when the pair of Leylah and Alize Cornet first met. Fresh from her successful run in the US Open, Leylah was up against Cornet in the second round. The Canadian tennis sensation won that match in straight-sets 6-2, 6-3. Although facing each other for the first time, it was the beginning of the formation of a strong bond between the two players.
Their friendship has grown leaps and bounds since their first meeting on the court last year. Fernandez talked about her partner, revealing that Cornet was an amazing person, being a serious professional but also knowing when to have fun and relax.
“Alize, she’s an extremely beautiful person – like, SO nice. She’s serious. But she knows when to throw in some jokes, have fun. I’ve trained with her a few times, and we played each other here last year.” said Leylah complimenting Cornet who had earlier praised the Canadian youngster.
The Canadian continued further, revealing how she met with Cornet at an important juncture. According to her, the Frenchwoman helped her transition to the tour and was a person she hit it off with at a time when she was finding it difficult to do so. This is what formed the crux of their friendship and collaboration.
“She was always very, very nice to me. She’s one of the first players that were there, which helped me kind of transition and be comfortable on the Tour. I remember having trouble finding like players to hit with. And every time I asked her, she would always say yes. And when she said ‘Yes’, she would tell me the exact date and the time. Since I was always available, I was like, ‘Yeah, sure. Let’s hit that time. I don’t mind!’ I’m just excited to play doubles with her this tournament.” added Leylah.
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