The first set was very well and equally played by both players. Williams had two break points for 3-1, but didn’t manage to break Cornet. Cornet was the one with the first break, breaking to 4-3 but Williams was right on her, breaking back to 4-4. There were no more break points until the first set went into a tiebreak. Williams developed a lead of 6-3, and eventually won the tiebreak 7-5. The French crowd was cheering their champion on nonetheless, and Cornet really took off, surprising Venus with slices and drop shots. The French got two breaks and won the set 6-1. This was the first set that Cornet won against Venus Williams in her career. The American came back strong, moving and playing as if she was 10 years younger, outplaying Cornet at every turn, and winning the final set 6-0. With this match, Williams leads the head-to-head with Cornet to 6-0, losing only one set.
“Oh my gosh, she (Cornet) is a great competitor. We had a tough match. I had some luck on important points. Wow! I’m so pleased to get through to the next round. I love tennis. I enjoy the battle. I love competing. To do what I love every day, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Kiki Bertens got her 10th win in a row, after a title from Nurnberg as a qualifier, she went on a tear of beating opponents ranked higher than her. First the World No. 3 Angelique Kerber, then dangerous Camila Giorgi, and now the Rising Star Daria Kasatkina. After split sets, Bertens took a lead of 5-2, and at 5-3 Bertens had 5 match points, but Kasatkina broke back. Bertens eventually won the match 10-8 in the third set, after 2 hours and 48 minutes.
