Alize Cornet’s life-long dream came to life on Monday when she made it to the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open. But her journey so far has consisted of 63 attempts.

Surviving a second set meltdown against two-time major winner Simona Halep, Cornet secured the game for herself with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. 

Also Read: Australian Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev cruise into 4th round

“It is never too late to try again!” Cornet said in her on-court TV interview on Monday after securing a spot in the quarterfinals. “To be in my first quarterfinal. It is a dream come true. The journey goes on. I still can not believe it”, she added, according to reports from Associated Press.

Cornet led by a set and 3-1 before losing five consecutive games and 16 straight points to send the match to a decider.

Halep saved two match points on her serve in the ninth game before Cornet clinched the match in the 10th. She dropped to her knees on the court and clasped her hands together, putting them over her face before looking into the stadium at her support team.

“It feels amazing,” said Cornet, who is playing in her 17th Australian Open. “The battle we had with Simone, with this heat. After 30 minutes, we were dying.”

Danielle Collins will be going up against Cornet in the next round. Collins played a three-hour-long match against Elise Mertens, beating her with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Collins reached the semifinal in the Australian Open in 2019.

Also Read: Tennis star Martina Navratilova criticises ban on ‘Where is Peng Shuai’ t-shirts

Cornet has never made it past the fourth round since making her Grand Slam singles debut as a wild-card entry at the 2005 French Open.

The marquee men’s match was on Margaret Court Arena, where US Open champion Daniil Medvedev needed 3 1/2 hours to beat No. 70-ranked Maxime Cressy 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-5, according to reports from Associated Press.