Latent heat: Alize Cornet

1990-born French Alize Cornet gained some attention last season, when she climbed from #189 to #57 in the WTA ranking and won the Junior competition in Roland Garros.
On 2008 Alize had to confirm all the expectations. And she did as soon as she got into clay courts. In late February she reached her first WTA final ever in Acapulco. But her breakthrough has been in the american green clay season. In Amelia Island she reached the semis, defeating 9th seed Sybille Bammer and 13th seed Virginie Razzano on her way. And in the Tier I of Charleston she upsetted 16th seed Michaella Krajicek and 10th seed Agnes Szavay to reach the semis for the second week in a row, where she was defeated by Serena Williams.


What makes Alize different from the rest of upcoming young players is that her game is not based on power, but on talent. Her gamestyle is varied and smart so she's often compared to Martina Hingis. Also her look, sweet and childish, is different.
She's already ranked #33, but with the European clay season on view she's likely to break into the Top 30 soon. And as her game is the most suitable of the young players for clay courts, many French fans are thinking about having another French Champion at Roland Garros. But we will have to wait for that, maybe not too much...
You can watch her gallery here