Cornet outlasts Halep in Australia heat to reach first grand slam quarter-final

Alizé Cornet has played in the main draw at 60 consecutive grand slams. She could yet break Ai Sugiyama’s record of 62 before the year is out. And that would be the definition of perfect timing, because the French world No 61 has indicated 2022 will probably be her last on tour.

The other thing about Cornet is that through those previous 59 appearances she had never made it to a single quarter-final. The closest she came was at the 2009 Australian Open – on this very court – when she led Dinara Safina 5-2 in the third set but squandered two match points and lost it 7-5.

She was 19 then; it is difficult to believe she is only 32 now. On Monday, back on Rod Laver Arena, she did what she had never done before. After a marathon slugfest under the searing sun, the French world No 61 beat Simona Halep 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, booked her spot in the last eight against American Danielle Collins, then allowed herself to cry.

“Thirteen years later … it feels amazing,” said Cornet, whose longevity stretches back to 2006 when she made her grand slam debut at Roland Garros aged 15. “The battle I had with Simona today with this heat. After 30 minutes we were both dying on the court. We kept going for two and a half hours with all our hearts.

“Congrats to Simona because I know she struggled a lot, and I admire this player so much. She is such a fighter, an example for me. To be here today and go to my first quarter-final is just a dream come true. It’s never too late to try again.”

By 4pm the mercury had climbed to 33 degrees celsius and the heat was clearly a problem for both players. During a change of ends Cornet sat with a bag of ice on her head, held out her hand and watched it quiver.

“My brain was already overloaded, my vision was not