Alize Cornet hugs Jelena Dokic in emotional moment at Australian Open

Jelena Dokic was left wiping away tears on court when an emotional star stopped her post-match interview to make a gesture of sheer class.

Jelena Dokic has wiped away tears during a touching moment with French veteran Alize Cornet at the Australian Open where both women were left overcome with emotion.

Cornet was an emootional wreck after she broke through to her first career grand slam quarter-final — ending a run of 62 slams without cracking the last-eight, the longest run in the history of women’s professional tennis.

Cornet crashed to her knees and bowed her head in her hands after winning her fourth round match with Simona Halep. She was still clutching her face when she sat down on her chair to take in her special moment.

She was left in tears all over again when she walked out onto the centre of Rod Laver Arena to speak with Dokic.

After hugging Dokic as she stepped up to the microphone, the crowd could her the 32-year-old say: “I’m sorry I’m so emotional”.

Alize Cornet embraces Jelena Dokic. Photo: Australian Open, Twitter, Paul Crock, AFP.

Cornet was the first of the pair to choke up with emotion when Dokic referenced a sliding doors moment from the 2009 Australian Open where the pair were one point away from playing each other in the quarter-finals. Cornet had match point against Dinara Safina at the time, but lost the match — and a chance to play Dokic in the quarter-finals.

Dokic said: “I’ve got goosebumps, but tell me, how do you feel right now?”

Cornet responded: “Oh my god, yeah. I wanted to play against you so bad. 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.”

When Dokic cut off the interview after five minutes by encouraging the crowd to give Cornet a round of applause, Cornet put her finger up to have one final say.

Her gesture to Dokic was absolute class.

“Wait, wait. So I just want to thank my box first, but also I want to tell you something, how you moved on in your life, I think we can all congratulate you,” she said.

“You were an amazing player and now an amazing commentator.”

No dry eyes in the house 😭😭😭

This on-court interview between @alizecornet and Jelena Dokic is everything. #AusOpen · #AO2022pic.twitter.com/F3nN0XSHNX

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2022

The reference to Dokic’s personal battles and ongoing mental health struggles following on from the trauma of her childhood, as exposed in distressing detail in her autobiography, left the Australian with a lump in her throat.

“You just made me cry. I can’t believe I’m crying. Thank you. Alize Cornet.”

In 2020 Dokic revealed how she had lost 53kg in 18 months and at last year’s Australian Open, took aim at trolls who were making nasty comments about her appearance.

Dokic has repeatedly spoken out bravely about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her dad Damir during her career. The former World No. 4 revealed she suffered physical abuse as a child and teenager almost every time her father was displeased with her performance on the tennis court.

In her 2017 biography Unbreakable, written with journalist Jessica Halloran, Dokic said the beatings were part of a systematic pattern of abuse from the man previously branded the “tennis dad from hell”.

Her ongoing recovery from the trauma is just one of many reasons she remains one of the most popular figures in Australian tennis.

The moment she shared with Cornet left tennis commentators feeling the love.

That on-court interview with Alizé Cornet & Jelena Dokic, the one where Cornet said "it's never too late" and acknowledged Dokic's journey back from so much nastiness in her youth

Sports, they're still worth ithttps://t.co/j6MvfdXrFO

— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) January 24, 2022

Cornet interrupts the interview, not to make a surprise retirement announcement, but to get the crowd to cheer Dokic after all she's been through. That's a phenomenal person. #AusOpen

— David Kane (@DKTNNS) January 24, 2022

I’m officially bawling right now...

Cornet to Dokic: I want to tell you something, how you moved on in your life, I think we can all congratulate you, because you were an amazing player and now you’re an amazing commentator, so bravo, Jelena.

— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) January 24, 2022