Team France’s Alize Cornet and Arthur Rinderknech scored victories for France against Argentina on Thursday, defeating Maria Lourdes Carle and Francisco Cerundolo of Team Argentina, respectively.
Cornet and Rinderknech won straight sets in their first tour-level matches in a doubleheader, giving sixth-seeded Team France a 2-0 lead in their first Group F match.
Cornet, a 2022 Australian Open quarterfinalist, cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Carle, ranked No. 147, in one hour and fifteen minutes. In the first five games, both players probed each other’s games without missing, resulting in lengthy baseline exchanges.
Carle, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Georgia, ran out of ideas first. Cornet took the first break for 4-2, but the Frenchwoman quickly recovered and won six straight games, including 13 of the first set’s final 14 points.
Cornet was in control at 2-0 in the second set, punishing Carle’s second serves and winning the all-court rallies, but she lost three game points for 3-0. Carle capitalized and responded with a vicious slice to stop the series of games against her.
However, Cornet insisted that it not be a turning point. A roaring strike champ down the line recovered her benefit for 3-1 and she didn’t drop another game, fixing her most memorable coordinate point with a legitimate crush.
“I had very little knowledge of [Carle].” She had a pretty good forehand, which I could see, and she moved well around the court. She’s a processor as well and is truly inspired. I tried to be even more prepared than she was because I thought she was ready for the fight.
“I thought I did pretty well overall, I was trying to stay focused on what I had to do myself, relying on my strengths,” Cornet stated.
“The first four games were pretty close; I was actually feeling nervous!” after that, my playing improved further. “It was a pretty entertaining match for the crowd and for me because I loosened up my game,” she added.
Rinderknech defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-2 in the final match of the day at RAC Arena thanks to a strong performance.
Cerundolo, No., displayed the early warning signs. 30 on the ATP List. In the match’s opening game, he faced two break points at 15/40, and even though he tried hard to hold serve, he was unable to do so in the seventh game.
At 3-3, 30/40, Cerundolo was forced to miss a forehand by Rinderknech due to his unrelenting clean hitting, and the Frenchman’s typically powerful serving left little room for his opponent to respond.
Throughout the 91 minutes of play, Rinderknech was dialed in on serve, and he did not experience any breakpoints. Because of this, his two breaks of the Cerundolo serve in the second set were more than enough to ensure his team’s commanding 2-0 lead and a convincing victory.
The 27-year-old Rinderknech made another impressive performance in Australia. In 2022, he reached his first ATP Final at the Adelaide International 2.
I adore the Australian courts. Last year, I felt great. As this was my first time in Australia, I hope for another enjoyable summer. In his on-court interview, Rinderknech stated, “I played really well on the big points; it helped me a lot, and I’m happy with the win tonight.”
In order to keep the tie alive, Team Argentina will now turn to Nadia Podoroska and Federico Coria in Friday’s singles matches. Podorosa, on the other hand, will compete against the World No. 4 and Caroline Garcia, who won the WTA Finals, Coria, who became the ATP World No. 46 Mannarino Adrian