'Beautiful': Star's selfless Jelena Dokic act has Aus Open fans in tears
French star Alize Cornet has selflessly delivered one of the most heartwarming moments of the Australian Open after praising former Aussie star Jelena Dokic only moments after reaching her first quarter-final.
Cornet has encapsulated the importance of perseverance at this year's Australian Open after reaching her first quarter-final after 63 grand slam tournaments.
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The 32-year-old, who turned pro at the age of 16, collapsed to the floor in the sweltering heat as she defeated two-time grand slam champ Simona Halep 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a brutal match.
Cornet and Halep were left utterly exhausted as they took every chance to rest in the shade during the gruelling conditions on court.
The French star was sobbing tears of joy after making history and was called upon to do her post-match interview with commentator Dokic.
In a lovely moment, Dokic went over and hugged Cornet - the two were both on the WTA circuit together in the past - and congratulated her on reaching her first quarter-final.
The pair enjoyed a lovely interview as Cornet told the crowd it was 'never too late' to achieve their dreams.
Dokic finished the interview so the exhausted Cornet could get some rest as the crowd joined in on the huge applause.
But in a beautifully selfless moment, Cornet waited for the crowd to finish and turned the attention on Dokic.
THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL! 😭❤️️@alizecornet and Jelena Dokic in one of the most emotional moments you'll see. #AusOpen - Live on Channel 9 and 9Now pic.twitter.com/YS3fmw4VnZ
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 24, 2022
"I also want to tell you [Dokic] something, how you moved on in your life, I think we can all congratulate you," Cornet said.
"You were an amazing player and now you are an amazing commentator. So [applause]."
The pair embraced, before Dokic said: "You've just made me cry."
The tennis world was quick to praise the beautiful moment as Cornet chose to share her moment with Dokic.
Beating Halep wasn't Cornet's biggest win of the day: taking time to acknowledge Jelena Dokic's journey back to a "good place" when she was about to get a standing ovation from the crowd was beautiful. pic.twitter.com/hst6ItJiue
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) January 24, 2022
That on-court interview with Alizé Cornet & Jelena Dokic, the one where Cornet said "it's never too late" and acknowledged Dokic's journey back from so much nastiness in her youth
Sports, they're still worth ithttps://t.co/j6MvfdXrFO— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) January 24, 2022
Interviewer Jelena Dokic went to hug Cornet, who was crying on court after reaching her first Grand Slam QF. Emotions.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 24, 2022
Cornet told Dokic hugging it out at the end of the loveliest on court interview 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/HbVL8XbGmf
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) January 24, 2022
That was a bloody touching moment on Rod Laver Arena!
Alize Cornet, after slugging it out for 2.5 hours, takes the time after her post-match interview to congratulate Jelena Dokic on what she has achieved. Just wonderful. #AusOpen— Luke D'Anello (@LukeDAnello) January 24, 2022
Class stuff from Alize Cornet turning the spotlight back on Jelena Dokic, saying she’s proud of her for the career she has built post-tennis.
It’s no secret Dokic has been through so much. Cornet takes *her* own moment to say she admires Jelena. Feels#AusOpen— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) January 24, 2022
Beautiful on-court interview between Cornet and Dokic. Simply beautiful. #AusOpen
— Alex Fair (@AJFair85) January 24, 2022
NEVER. GIVE. UP. @alizecornet turned pro at 16.
Now aged 32, she just made her first Grand Slam quarter final.
Talented, hard-working, fiercely competitive and, FYI: always super friendly and genuine during our Hopman Cup and AO interviews.#AusOpen #cornet 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/hy9oEyXiRn— Mark Gibson (@markgibbo) January 24, 2022
Cornet is playing her 60th grand slam in a row.
Earlier in the interview, Cornet continued to win over the fans when she hoped her Australian Open run was an example that it was "never too late to try again".
Jelena Dokic opens up on past battles
Achieving a career-high ranking of World No.4 in 2002, Dokic's career was limited by the looming presence of her father, who was memorably banned from the Australian Open in 2001 for abusive behaviour.
Since returning to public life when she became a commentator for Fox Sports in 2017 and publishing her autobiography later that year, Dokic has been candid about the many challenges she's face both during and after her playing career.
Before the Australian Open, Dokic said she “would be lying if I said I was doing well” after confirming the heartbreaking news that she and longtime boyfriend Tin Bikic had broken up.
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