Gippsland Trophy Tennis Boxing
Alize Cornet (5'8", 132 lbs) vs Ajla Tomljanovic (5'11", 147 lbs)
(France vs Australia)
WTA Rankings: #53 vs #69

Venue: Melbourne Park

{{{ Story based on a real-life tennis match played in the first round of the WTA Gippsland Trophy on February 1, 2021 }}}

BEFORE: Australia becomes the new celebrity funk hole as the world writes another COVID-19 chapter but WTA players are ready to swing it Down Under despite various accommodation issues in the Gippsland Trophy build-up. Local favorite Ajla Tomljanovic struggled for form during the deficient 2020 season but her tonight's opponent Alize Cornet is few years removed from her peak as well. However this makes up for an exciting match-up even tough Tomljanovic owns supreme height & reach numbers for pure boxing value. Game on in Melbourne!

Alize Cornet wears a pink crop top, matching hotpants & silver gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. Ajla Tomljanovic wears a purple bikini set & golden gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Ajla sets the early pace using the supreme reach; she tries to clock the Frenchwoman with a stubborn jabbing attack and Alize refuses to try her chances in pure slugging fashion. She defaults the artistic impression value and allows Ajla to swing aerial bombs much to the scattered crowd's delight. It's all about avoding that big haymaker early and that's something Cornet accomplishes despite lacklustre counter-punching effort. But nobody expects the older brunette to do anything in mid-distance against the much taller Australian anyway.

Rounds 2 & 3:
More power supply from Tomljanovic who sticks several crisp punches into Cornet's face and triggers a couple of solid exchanges in the center of the ring. Alize flicks a body assault drive and halts the Aussie progress for a while but eats a nasty hook over the top which gives Ajla a clear edge late in the second. She bombs more strikes straight into Alize's face and drives her butt-in-ropes before resuming the attacking ordeal in the third. Alize's counter-punching stalls upon impact and she's not winning any points through her nifty footwork either. Ajla hassles her around the ring and traps along the ropes where she unloads more head-hunting pressure. Alize withstands the initial burst but can only clinch her foe to stop the proverbial bleeding. Ajla still outmuscles her in the corner and lands a late jabbing flurry to remain on top of the subdued Frenchwoman.

Round 4:
Alize tries to beat Ajla to the punch and squares up in close range but gets busted in the chops and finds herself leaking more punches upstairs again! She wobbles to her heels and doesn't recover fast enough so Ajla blasts her in the jaw and breaks her resilience for good shortly afterwards. Cornet loses her balance and stumbles onto the ropes where she sinks just long enough the rangy Australian smacks her with a crippling double! Huh! Alize cries out in pain while Ajla blows more hooks and tags both temples before dropping a left bomb on the solar plexus that FLOORS CORNET ON THE SPOT!!! Boom! Local favorite cashes in on her dominant performance but Alize wisely takes the count on one knee until nine... too cool for comfort? Melbourne fans believe Tomljanovic is ready to end this one within seconds now but suddenly Cornet's pace allows her to stay clear of a proper follow up and Ajla's attack slice thin air in the closing stages and let the Frenchwoman off the hook.

Round 5:
Ajla drives in more punches but bounces off the top of Alize's forehead and the older brunette flips a jabbing switch to finally find success in the desired close range. Maybe Ajla felt too comfortable with the big lead on the cards but she's getting bullied by a feisty body assault here and gets bumped onto the ropes where Alize's all-in efforts allow her to stay in the slugging lane and silence the Melbourne crowd. She keeps blasting Tomljanovic to the body and chalks up a solid comeback round but the Aussie entourage doesn't consider this a real threat just yet.

Rounds 6 & 7:
Alize gets more effective as she drains Ajla's slugging pursuit early in each of the next two rounds. Ajla thinks she's done enough keeping the French tourist on her toes but the subsequent counter-punching leaves her hugging the ropes while Alize keeps drilling the exposed midsection and makes Tomljanovic look sluggish at best. Alize finds the hole around the navel and almost carries a stray elbow in the rack as well which finally makes the taller brunette angry but the phone booth stance allows Cornet to blast superior numbers and suddenly Ajla looks physically AWOL as she sinks into loud spasms late in the seventh. Ugh! Alize blasted her in the gut one time too many and the Melbourne fans realize it too...

Rounds 8 & 9:
Ajla resumes the trigger-happy assault but loses her precision alltogether and just can't find the power supply while Alize carries more stamina into the closing stages of the fight. The early knockdown should still make the difference as the older brunette tries to grind the local favorite down. Ajla abandonds the haymaker pursuit and keeps it simple from the inside but doesn't find any success and she just can't shake Cornet off... another round ends with both women locked in a stalemate on the ropes before Alize opens the ninth with a crippling bomb on the boobs and slumps Ajla into loud spasms... here comes the French attack and Alize pounds away the exposed midsection in fury... she thumps the aching Aussie back to the turnbuckle and drills her toned abs while also catching her on the jaw with a stray head-butt. Ref gives Ajla a quick break to recover but the Aussie woman is left glued to the spot and gets pancaked in the ribs regardless to the point Alize shouts her trademark "Vamos!" at the bell.

Round 10:
The French tourist might still need a knockdown here and she goes in hard on the physically drained opponent. Ajla almost trips over her own feet as she tries to retreat out of her range but still gets caught by a quick hook on the jaw... she swings wide over Alize's head in response and gets spun sideways when the older brunette smacks her on the nose... another uppercut drive catches both the chest and chin and sinks Tomljanovic into loud spasms... Alize steps up from the front (left) leg and NAILS the younger brunette on the jaw with a thundering strike! DOWN GOES AJLA!!! Alize gives everyone another "Vamos!" and it's a slow recovery from the fallen Aussie... Ajla displays that misty look in her eyes and literally asks the ref to give her a helping hand... she scrambles back to her feet at nine but looks all shot here... forty seconds left and Alize pushes for the KO finish! She buries the ailing foe under a steady harpoon attack and beats her stomach into a mush leaving the Aussie screaming out in pain! Ajla hangs on the ropes and manages to avoid a late disaster but Alize has to be pulled away by the ref at the bell and she's totally upset about it! Tomljanovic crashes down on her knees moments later but she's been saved by the bell after all...

After ten rounds of WTA boxing we go to the scorecards... judges score the bout 95-93, 95-94 and 95-93 for your winner through unanimous decision... Alize Cornet!!!

AFTER: Another case of Ajla Tomljanovic snatching defeat from the jaws of victory... all too familiar for WTA die-hards! She can't even force a favorable decision on adopted home turf after a total collapse in the second half of the fight! Meanwhile Alize blows kisses to the crowd and claims she's still got some juice left in the tank. Most genuine counter-punchers descend into punchbag status once they hit the age 30 barrier but Alize remains in perfect physical condition and must be considered as a valuable gatekeeper even though the younger generation intends to phase her out of the game.

Official Result: Alize Cornet def. Ajla Tomljanovic UD10 (Tennis score was 5-7, 6-1, 6-3).