Frenchwoman Alize Cornet proved she was a fighter at last summer’s Hopman Cup, and now she has her sights set on crashing into the world’s top 10.
Cornet is back in Perth to defend her Hopman Cup crown – a title she fought so hard to win with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a year ago.
In the final against Poland, Cornet appeared to be on the verge of keeling over during the second set against Agnieszka Radwanska after suffering an asthma attack on court.
Struggling to breathe and close to tears, Cornet bravely battled on to win the second set in a tie breaker.
Although Radwanska eventually won the match, Cornet had the last laugh after combining with Tsonga to win the deciding mixed doubles.
“I remember it was very intense,” Cornet said of her epic battle with Radwanska.
“I remember that the rallies were so long and I was actually out of breath. And I had a little problem with my back.
“I heard it was one of the best matches of the year, so it was a great honour to be part of.”
Cornet and Radwanska will renew rivalries at this summer’s Hopman Cup when France take on Poland next Friday.
Tsonga’s withdrawal due to an arm injury means Cornet will team with world No.118 Benoit Paire at the mixed-teams event starting on Sunday.
America’s powerful pairing of world No.1 Serena Williams and world No.19 John Isner are hot favourites to win, while Australia will struggle to break their 16-year title drought following the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios with a back injury.
West Australian Matt Ebden has taken Kyrgios’ place, with world No.29 Casey Dellacqua set to largely carry the home nation’s hopes.
Australia’s campaign begins on Sunday night against the strong Polish pairing of Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz.
Cornet made steady progress in 2014, and her third-round win over Serena Williams at Wimbledon has given her confidence of a big year ahead.
“My goal is to get back to my best ranking, which was 11 in 2009,” said Cornet, who is currently ranked 19th.
“And then why not go into the top 10? That’s my main goal of the year.
“It’s not going to be easy because the top 10 level is very strong with amazing players. But I believe in my chances.
“When I beat Serena in the third round of Wimbledon, I proved I could do it – that I could reach the second week (of a grand slam) by beating the best player in the world.”
HOPMAN CUP XXVII at Perth Arena, January 4-10
Most titles: US – 6, Spain – 4, Slovak Republic – 3
Australia’s sole win: 1999 (Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic)
GROUP A (world rankings in brackets)
Canada: Eugenie Bouchard (7), Vasek Pospisil (53)
Czech Republic: Lucie Safarova (16), Adam Pavlasek (240)
Italy: Flavia Pennetta (12), Fabio Fognini (20)
US: Serena Williams (1), John Isner (19)
GROUP B
Australia: Casey Dellacqua (29, Matt Ebden (231)
France: Alize Cornet (19), Benoit Paire (118)
Great Britain: Heather Watson (49), Andy Murray (6)
Poland: Agnieszka Radwanska (6), Jerzy Janowicz (43)
