Back on the courts after a retirement announced last year, Alizé Cornet, 35, did not deserve the Hungarian Anna Bondár in the first round of the WTA 1000 qualifications in Rome. The Niçoise bowed in two hanging sets (6-4, 6-4), not without having shown promising sequences.
The start of the match was however ideal for Alizé Cornet. Worn by A nice aggressiveness in return And a solid service, she quickly took over her opponent, an entrance break to lead 4-1. At that time, she dictated the exchange, chaining the winning strokes as a backhand, and prevented Anna Bondár from installing her game, based on regularity and cadence exchanges.
But this beautiful dynamic was gradually gripped. The Hungarian (89th in the WTA ranking), victorious of the ITF tournament in Wiesbaden last week, knew how to tighten the game at the right time, taking advantage of Some direct faults From Niçoise to pick up, then pass in front in an end of the first one-way set (4-6).
In the second set, the scenario was reversed. More passive, Alizé Cornet let Anna Bondár take control of the exchanges. Even if she managed to break up at 1-2 in a fourth very disputed game, she immediately gave up her service, missing the opportunity to relaunch the match.
Frustrated by a few errors, but overall combative, Alizé Cornet never abdicated. And if the defeat is there, she confirms that her return to the circuit, initiated recently with two victories at the Challenger of Bisbal d’Empordà, is not just a simple baroud of honor.
It will still take a little rhythm and endurance to regain its full measure, but in Rome, the Niçoise has proven that it always had its place on the professional circuit.
