Frenchwoman Alize Cornet is playing in the Hobart International for the third time. Tonight the seventh seed takes on Paraguayan lucky loser Veronica Cepede Royg in the feature match on centre court. A win will qualify Cornet for a first quarterfinal at the tournament.
Before the former world No.11 takes to the court, we sat down with her and she revealed she wishes she was Roger Federer and likened herself to a boxing kangaroo…
HI: Welcome back to Hobart Alize. Let’s start with a tough question, can you describe your personality for us in three words?
Cornet: Oh my god! I would say outgoing, spontaneous and the third one would be… I don’t know how to say it in English but like when you have a strong character and get a bit angry sometimes – like a volcano, you get angry really fast.
What is the hardest part about being a tennis player?
Being away from home all the time, that is the toughest thing. Being away from my family, my house, my dog – all the things that I love. But this is pretty exciting too, so I can handle it.
If you weren’t a tennis player what would you be?
I thought you were going to ask if I could be any tennis player, which of course I would be Roger (Federer). That’s a good question, I never really seriously ask myself that question because I think my destiny was to play tennis since I was a kid – that’s what I like to think. So maybe I would say working in a job where you speak many languages. I speak Spanish, English and French, so maybe I would have worked in something like this, maybe like a translator?
Have you studied these languages or are you self-taught?
I started to learn them all at school and by travelling, it makes it even better.
What is your goal for 2016?
To play as many matches as I can, just staying healthy and to have fun on the court. When I have fun on the court that is when I play my best tennis.
Finally, what is your favourite Australian animal – a kangaroo or koala?
Oh that’s tough, it’s not the same personality level! I like kangaroos maybe better. I like when they are boxing, it’s like pretty similar to me sometimes (laughs).
Can Cornet reach the Hobart International quarterfinals for the first time with victory tonight? Tell us what you think by joining the #HobartTennis conversation on social media – Twitter or Facebook.
Don’t miss a minute of the action either, the match will be live streamed.