MELBOURNE (Associated Press) – Alice Cornet fell to her knees on the steel blue court, clasping her hands together and taking a minute to take her.
At his 17th Australian Open, his 63rd Grand Slam, and two days after celebrating his 32nd birthday, Cornet finally qualified for the quarter-finals of one of the world’s four Grand Slams.
Cornet recovered from a poor second set in the Melbourne sun to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 over double champion Simona Halep on Monday.
“It’s never too late to try again!” Cornet said in a television interview from the field. “To be in my first quarter-final. It’s a dream come true.”
Cornet will now face American 27th seed Danielle Collins, who defeated 19th seed Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted nearly three hours at Rod Laver Court. Collins reached the semi-finals in Australia in 2019. And Australia in 2019.
Today’s match was in Margaret Court’s men’s draw, as US Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated 70th seed Maxime Cressi 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-5.
The second seed Medvedev is trying to become the first man in the current open format to win his second major title at the upcoming Grand Slam. Now he is three wins away from achieving it.
Medvedev finished second in Australia last year but avenged that setback by beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. Djokovic is not defending his title in Melbourne, after he was deported for failing to comply with Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination regulations.
Chrissy’s style caused some frustration for Medvedev, who at the end of the fourth set said it was “the worst day of my life”. His luck changed quickly. After saving eight break points in the set, he broke Chrissy in that match and Medvedev sealed the match.
He will face ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4). Medvedev beat the Canadian in the semi-finals last year at the US Open.
The temperature reached 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), and players were allowed extra breaks to deal with the heat.
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