Zheng cruises into French Open 2nd round as Cornet retires in tears

Zheng Qinwen of China attends the press conference after winning the women's singles first round match against Alize Cornet of France at the French tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on May 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

PARIS, May 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Zheng Qinwen opened her third Roland Garros campaign with a dominating win on Tuesday as the seventh seed beat French veteran Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-1 to reach the second round.

34-year-old Cornet, who had made her debut in Paris as a 15-year-old wildcard in 2005, announced prior to her arrival on the red dirt that this year's French Open would be her last tournament.

With the best result at any Grand Slam event as a quarterfinalist and a career-high ranking of 11th place, Cornet holds one of the most impressive Open Era records in the sport - having played a staggering 69 consecutive Grand Slam singles draws, a run that began in Australia in 2007.

"I was in tears for Rafa's match [yesterday], again today," Cornet said in tears on court. "I've been preparing for this moment for weeks, but we're never ready to say goodbye. It's quite a page turning. A page of 30 years. I started at four years old. It's scary in a way.

"Emotion overwhelms me because I see how far I have come. I am proud of what I accomplished, I would have liked to do more, but I gave everything to my sport, and I was incredibly lucky to have lived this life."

It was the pair's second head-to-head clash following last year's French Open, where Zheng led by 6-0, 3-0 in the third round before Cornet retired. That French Open was seen as the starting point for the Chinese young star's rise to prominence.

21-year-old Zheng, who came from the same province as China's former Grand Slam winner Li Na, reached the final at the Australian Open earlier this year and broke into the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time in her career.

Next for Zheng is the winner between world No. 66 Ashlyn Krueger of the United States and No. 79 Tamara Korpatsch of Germany.

Zheng Qinwen of China attends the press conference after winning the women's singles first round match against Alize Cornet of France at the French tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on May 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)