World number 61 Alize Cornet of France knocked out 14th seed and two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 33 minutes here at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
Cornet started off on a confident note breaking Halep in the fourth game but the two-time grand slam champion fought back to break Cornet in the very next game. In the eighth game Cornet broke the 14th seed again to take an important 5-3 lead, ultimately winning the set 6-4.
Simona Halep made a strong comeback in the second set breaking her opponent in the very first game, but was broken back in the second game. Cornet broke Halep for the second time in the second set to take a 3-1 lead. In the very next game Halep made yet another comeback by breaking Cornet's serve. From there on there was no looking back as she won all the games to take the set 6-3, making it one set apiece.
In the third and final set it was a neck-to-neck battle as both players held their serves to stay level at 3-3. In the seventh game Cornet broke Halep to nose ahead and from there on she went on to hold all her serves to win the third and final set 6-4.
World number 61 Cornet will take on American 27th seed Danielle Collins for a place in the quarterfinals.
( With inputs from ANI )
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