Veteran French player Alize Cornet reduced Australian tennis legend Jelena Dokic to tears as the pair shared a beautiful on-court moment at Rod Laver Arena.
Cornet, 32, had almost given up hope of ever playing in a Grand Slam quarter final, so emotions were running high when she finally achieved the feat in her 63rd major tournament.
She had never previously progressed past the fourth round.
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Her win today over former world No.1 Simona Halep was the first time Cornet had played in the fourth round of an Australian Open since 2009.
That year, she fell on the wrong side of another marathon match, and narrowly missed out on facing Dokic in the quarter finals.
After beating Halep 6-4 3-6 6-4, Cornet paid a beautiful tribute to the retired Aussie and reminisced about that tournament 13 years ago.
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“I wanted to play against you so bad. I wanted to play against you so bad,” Cornet told Dokic on-court.
“I was so disappointed. I loved your game and I was so excited about playing a quarter-final against you and I couldn’t and it was really painful.
“Now 13 years later, you’re here, I’m still here.”
The interview ended and Dokic farewelled Cornet to the crowd, but then the Frenchwoman grabbed the microphone to pay one last, tribute to her friend.
“Wait, wait. So I just want to thank my box first, but also I want to tell you something,” Cornet said to Dokic.
“How you moved on in your life, I think we can all congratulate you. You were an amazing player and now an amazing commentator.”
Dokic burst into tears.
“You just made me cry. I can’t believe I’m crying. Thank you,” Dokic said as the pair embraced on the court.
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