Frenchwoman Alize Cornet needed only 53 minutes to earn a place in tomorrow’s 2016 Hobart International final.
The seventh seed was clinical as she swept aside Swede Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-1 in this evening’s semifinal.
“I’m very, very happy to be in the final,” Cornet said. “It’s a little bit unexpected. I didn’t know what to expect from the beginning of this year, but it starts really well so far.”
Cornet did not let her opponent into the match, losing just eight points on serve as she scored a comprehensive win. The world No.42 hit 21 winners and had only 12 unforced errors to Larsson’s seven winners and 24 unforced errors.
“I was very solid at both the beginning of the two sets, which was very important to show her I would be very proactive and aggressive,” she said.
Cornet had received a walkover into the semifinals after ninth seed Mona Barthel withdrew injured from their quarterfinal. In contrast Larsson’s quarterfinal match did not finish until 2am this morning.
“Sometimes in a tournament you need a little bit of luck and you have to take advantage of it,” Cornet said of her quarterfinal walkover.
“It was a big advantage. I was following the match yesterday night and actually when I went to sleep they were only beginning the match, so I was like I really have to take advantage tomorrow because the winner is probably going to be tired and I was fresh because I had two days off. It’s part of the game, sometimes I was in this case and I had to deal with it.”
Cornet now meets Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in tomorrow’s final.
> Read about Bouchard’s semifinal win
Larsson was scheduled to return to the court later this evening for a doubles semifinal, but withdrew citing a thigh injury. The Swede and her Dutch partner Kiki Bertens were the second seeds and defending champions. China’s Xinyun Han and American Christina McHale receive a walkover into tomorrow’s doubles final, where they play Australian pair Kimberly Birrell and Jarmila Wolfe.
> Read about Birrell and Wolfe’s semifinal win
Can Cornet become the first French player to win the Hobart International since 1996? Tell us what you think, join the #HobartTennis conversation on social media – Twitter or Facebook.