New No. 2 Radwanska drops just one game in dominating win over Cornet

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—On a blustery, humid Florida day, Agnieszka Radwanska swept past Alize Cornet in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, in just over an hour.

In her defense, Cornet hasn’t competed since the Australian Open. A back injury looked like it would keep her out for as long as six months. Instead, the Frenchwoman made a triumphant return with a first-round win over Galina Voskoboeva at the Miami Open.

But facing new world No. 2 Radwanska on Thursday was too big a task.

Radwanska raced out to a 3-0 lead. Though the games were long, the important points went the Pole’s way, and Cornet made too many unforced errors. (She would end up with 36 to Radawnska’s 19.) The spraying of errors from the world No. 42 was somewhat understandable, as she’s been out of action for so long.

Both players began 2016 with titles—Radwanska in Shenzhen and Cornet in Hobart.

Radwanska, though, has been in excellent, consistent form for far longer. She ended 2015 with her biggest career title—at the WTA Finals in Singapore—and compiled a 17-3 record to start this year (thanks to semifinal showings in Australia, Doha and Indian Wells.)

“At the moment I’m playing very good, especially after I had a good run in Indian Wells,” Radwanska said. “I’m playing good tennis from the beginning of the year.”

Down 4-0, Cornet had chances to get on the board with two game points, but she let fly a routine forehand and hit her third double fault. Radwanska promptly held serve to close out the set with a bagel.

If the point did manage to last more than five shots, Radwanska found ways to slip winners past Cornet. While Cornet is a crafty player in her own right, it’s impossible to out-craft the “Ninja.”

Radwanska was playing with a taped right shoulder, but that’s not really news—she often has at least one body part strapped up. Shortly after getting on the scoreboard in the second set, Cornet called the trainer to work on her back.

“I think health is the most important thing in tennis, especially since our season is pretty long,” Radwanska said. “And to stay healthy and to play good, constant tennis the whole year … You really have to take care of yourself, a lot.”

Radwanska reeled off six games in a row to seal the match after dropping the first game of the second set.

Though the action was one-sided, it was good to see the expressive and often eccentric Cornet back on court. She is the mascot of the hilarious @WTAreactions account, after all.

With Radwanska consistently playing at a high level, she has a solid shot at a late-career Grand Slam, especially if Serena Williams starts to falter.

Williams is nearly 4,000 points ahead of Radwanska, so the chance of the 27-year-old closing in on No. 1 anytime soon is minimal. But she’s matched her career-high ranking of No. 2 (first achieved in 2012), and she’s producing high-level tennis—higher than many expected after stagnating in the middle of the Top 10 for the past few years.

Four years ago, back in 2012, Radwanska took home the title here in Key Biscayne.

She certainly has the ability to do it again.

“Of course it’s always great to be back in places that you’ve won in before­­—especially since it’s one of the biggest titles of the year,” she said. “You always try to get that, and it’s always just another year to try… Miami is a wonderful place to play tennis, especially since the stadiums are full from the beginning of the tournament and they love tennis here.”

Radwanska faces American Madison Brengle in the third round. Brengle beat No. 28 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 7-5, 6-4, earlier on Thursday. Radwanska is just one year older than Brengle, though she’s ranked 58 spots higher than her. The two have never faced each other.

“I’ve seen a lot of her matches, and last year she had a couple of very good results,”

Radwanska said. “I also remember her from the juniors—she’s a similar age.”

(Brengle reached as high as No. 4 as a junior, while Radwanska spent some time at No. 1.)

“It’s always a good challenge to play someone you’ve never played before,” she concluded.