Oh mother, Tomljanovic downs Cornet in rollercoaster

LONDON : Ajla Tomljanovic's mother gets so nervous about her daughter's tennis matches that she often opts to go on long walks with the family dog to block out the tension.

On Monday it became clear why Emina Tomljanovic usually adopts the head-in-sand approach as her daughter put her through the wringer before beating Alize Cornet 4-6 6-4 6-3 in an electrifying fourth-round rollercoaster at Wimbledon.

The nerve-shredding drama left 29-year-old Tomljanovic sobbing as she became the first Australian woman in more than two decades to reach back-to-back Wimbledon quarter-finals.

"I didn't really think I could do it," the 29-year-old told the crowd, which included Australian great Margaret Court.

Speaking through tears, Tomljanovic then explained why this year's run to the last eight, where she will face Kazakh 17th seed Elena Rybakina, was extra special.

"The biggest thing that is different this year is my mum's here. She didn't watch any of my matches last year, even on TV," said the Croatian-born Tomljanovic, whose 2021 Wimbledon adventure was ended by fellow Australian and eventual champion Ash Barty.

"She would walk the dog for hours and then check the score. I was so mad at her because I was like, 'What if I'm never going to do this again, you missed it'.

"Well here you go mum, you're welcome," she added with a smile as her mother looked on sheepishly from the Court Two stands.

The 44th-ranked Australian had beaten Cornet in a topsy-turvy three-setter at last year's championships and Monday's encounter was no less eventful as both players kept being broken.

With Cornet leading 4-2 in the opening set, the players embarked on a sequence of six games that went against serve.

Although the 32-year-old Frenchwoman managed to win