Express & Star

Aegon Classic: How to stop Serena Williams?

When deputy sports editor Derek Bish was in need of a tennis lesson, who better to seek out than the only person on the planet seemingly capable of stopping arguably the greatest women's player of all time?

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Bubbly and bright, Alizé Cornet seems totally relaxed ahead of our 30-minute tutorial – and so she should as she embarks on the road to the scene of her greatest triumph.

The Frenchwoman caused the upset of the Wimbledon Championships last summer by fighting back from a set down to stun 20-time major winner Serena Williams in the third round on Centre Court at SW19– a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact the American world No. 1 has hoovered up three Grand Slam titles since.

Cornet – 25 in age and world ranking – shares her six-match head-to-head record with Williams, but the last three – which all took place last year – have gone in her favour, although one was when Williams retired hurt.

First, she will try to conquer the Aegon Classic – starting at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham today – a tournament she is returning to after four years away.

It is here I meet Alizé for my tennis lesson, but when I arrive there is no space on the grass courts due to the sheer number of players getting in their much-needed practice as they adjust from the slow, high-bouncing clay courts to the fast, low-bouncing lawns of Britain.

Instead, Alizé and I head for the courts at the club's indoor tennis centre as she explains the vast difference for players moving from clay to grass.

"It's a big change," says the player who reached the fourth round of the French Open less than a fortnight earlier. "My first practice on grass was on Thursday – it was a bit of a shock, I have to say. You have to get very low on the legs and prepare a bit earlier – they are the two keys."

From our first conversation you can tell she cannot wait for practice to stop – she had three sessions lined up as well as our hit on the day I met with her – and for the real action to begin when she faces Christina McHale in the first round of the Aegon Classic today.

"I'm pretty happy to be back on grass – I have amazing memories from last year, especially at Wimbledon," she says, as she reveals her infectious smile for the first time, clearly harbouring the joyous memories of that Williams victory 11 months ago which she celebrated by sinking to her knees in delight to kiss the Centre Court turf.

Her run may have ended against eventual finalist – and one of the many star names of this year's Aegon Classic – Eugenie Bouchard in the next round, but it marked her equal best run at a Grand Slam and one she hopes to at least match when she returns to Wimbledon on June 29.

"It's an amazing tournament with lots of emotions," she said. "The grass court season is only a few weeks in a year, so it's all about how you get used to it. I have two tournaments of preparation before Wimbledon, so hopefully I can try to do as well as last year."

Former world number ones Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic head a stellar line-up in Birmingham, giving the Aegon Classic a strong argument it is now the second-best grass-court tournament on the women's tour – it's equal second at the very least after being awarded the same status as the other key Wimbledon warm-up in Eastbourne.

"There's going to be more people and the draw is going to be stronger as well because the prize money and ranking points have increased," said Cornet. "There are most of the best players in the world like Ivanovic, Halep and many, many others.

Alize Cornet in action

"It's a big challenge to play here – I just hope I can play as many matches as possible to get some good practice in before Eastbourne and then Wimbledon.

"I love the crowds here – you can feel they are passionate about tennis, that they love it deeplyClass."

As we rally back and forth, I'm feeling pretty good about how I'm holding my own, and can't resist upping the ante by drilling a forehand cross-court that I'm certain has to be a winner until Alizé skips across with ease to return it.

This sparks a few minutes of me trying everything to send the ball past the world No.25, but even though I'm playing at about 400 per cent of my capacity and Alizé four per cent of hers, there is no way through.

Soon I'm a gibberish mess, struggling to breathe and sweating profusely, and as we shake hands at the net it's pretty clear where my coach for the day – who finds it all rather amusing – thinks I need to improve.

"You're much more out of breath than me!" she laughs. "Work on your cardio!"

A few tennis pointers follow, including how I need to move forward on to my forehand, rather than backwards, forcing me to dump many into the bottom of the net – easier said than done when one of the wold's best is drilling the ball back at you!

Derek Bish hits a winner

The other is not to be afraid of my suspect backhand and 'let it go a little bit more' so I'm swinging right through the ball rather than trying to stab it back into play all the time.

As I breathlessly thank Alizé for taking the time to help me out, I ask her why outside of Williams there have been no consistent challengers at the top of the women's game for some time – unlike the men's side where the big four of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray have won 41 of the last 48 men's Grand Slams.

"All the girls are playing a great level and everybody can beat everybody," explains Alizé. "That's a good thing about the tour right now – you will have such great fights from the first round and even if you are 50 in the world you have a great chance to go far."

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