Heather Watson fell just short of making her way back into the competition at the US Open Monday. The 25 year old couldn’t get ahead of Alize Cornet who had everything going right with her first serve that led to her 6-4, 6-4 win on Court Four at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
The French star has been on a rough course this season losing more matches than she expected. The 27 year old won just two matches in ten matches dating back to May 6. Her history against Heather Watson has been flawless winning both meetings occurring on the hard courts. The 25 year old English star had never been out of the first round at the US Open and hoped to get the job done carrying more wins than her opponent.
She found herself broken by Cornet in the first game edging from a 30 all score to gain break point and put her foot forward. A hold to love is what the French star consolidated for herself smashing an angled shot in the rally that beat Watson. In response to the hole she found herself in, Watson put together a good service hold to get on the board. The problem came when she faced the French star who kept her offense right where she wanted it in the fourth gaining back a two game lead.
Watson continued fighting back where a hold in the fifth kept her within reach of leveling the score but Cornet was still the better one on court. She held things together in the sixth but the hold of serve from Watson made it clear that it wasn’t going to be an easy day for either of them. Cornet made a statement of her will to take the set gaining a second love service that she finished with a light line drive smash putting Watson on notice of her falling a set down if she couldn’t hang on. Watson fought Cornet to deuce in the ninth where the struggle to hold serve was weighing heavily on her.
After four breaks, the 25 year old managed to hold off Cornet from bringing an end to the set but still stood on the edge of defeat. Watson stayed very close on the scoreboard until an unforced error handed Cornet set point. She saw things come to a close with a very difficult return that didn’t have the accuracy to stay in to end 45 minutes. Cornet had a first serve that was doing very well for her as well as winning 85 percent of points. It clearly made returning against her difficult as Watson witnessed by scoring 7 of 28 in the set.
The stat was the key to Cornet’s push in the second set as she once again dictated Watson to open a 2-0 score. The Brit made her serve count with a short battle on deuce but after a single break, she held off Cornet, climbing onto the scoreboard. A consolidation for Watson helped her produce a second straight victory over her French opponent that enabled a stance to turn the tables while she had the momentum.
Cornet defended against Watson in the fifth that gave he a chance to open the margin while she had the chance to do so. The 27 year old added a service hold to make it 4-2 on Watson but the Brit clawed her way back, leveling the score at four all with hopes of sending the match to the distance. Cornet made a big move in the ninth breaking Watson on serve, giving her a chance to end it on her own terms. It was a short race but on an unforced return from Watson, it gave Cornet match point where the second serve kept the ball in play until the sixth shot where Watson’s shot went just wide bringing an end to the 1 hour and 36 minutes of play.
Cornet held an overall service percentage that made it a comfortable outing in her 11th appearance to the tournament. Despite a dismal second serve, she minimized playing on it that led her to beating down that of Watson’s who scored 18 of 41 from the second service. The pass for Cornet put her in a tight spot as she planned to face Petra Kvitova in the second round Wednesday.
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