JOIN USAlize Cornet attempted Tuesday to roll back on describing her French Open embrace with compatriot Caroline Garcia as the ‘coldest kiss’ she has received, backing her bitter rival to succeed at Roland Garros.
Cornet lost in straight sets to Garcia in the fourth round on Monday in the pair's first meeting since a fallout in April left them barely on speaking terms.
Garcia had infuriated Cornet, as well as fellow French Open quarterfinalist Kristina Mladenovic, by pulling out of a Fed Cup tie at the 11th hour through injury.
Cornet, Mladenovic as well as team-mate Pauline Parmentier then all tweeted ‘LOL’ simultaneously. After Monday's match, the two women surprisingly shook hands and embraced, a gesture greeted by huge applause from the Philippe Chatrier crowd.
But Cornet wasn't letting her defeat pass quietly. "It was the coldest kiss I had in my life," she said after a 6-2, 6-4 loss.
"I was actually also surprised. I was not expecting that she wanted to give me a kiss. It was good to finish on this note, I wouldn't have liked just a handshake, like very cold. I don't like the conflict. So I told her good luck, and I mean it."
Cornet attempted to further extend the olive branch by tweeting good luck to Garcia and Mladenovic for their quarters.