PARIS — The pressure is so high on French women at Roland Garros that a third-round win can be celebrated like a final victory, as Alize Cornet demonstrated wildly on Friday.
The 29th seed lay on her back on the red clay, unleashed a scream and burst into tears after her 4-6 6-3 7-5 defeat of unseeded Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
For the first time in her 11 years as an entrant on the Parisian clay, she was through to play for a quarter-final spot.
"I feel the pressure of Roland Garros and the pressure of the tournament and the fact that I want to do good," she told a news conference.