When Alizé Cornet was drawn against No.7 seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round of Roland Garros, the final tournament of her storied career, few would have ruled out the possibility of the notorious upset artist taking down one last big name.

Alizé Cornet: A career in photos

Cornet owns 25 Top 10 wins, spanning multiple generations of players and nearly two decades. Zheng, however, was in no mood to become the 26th. The Australian Open finalist dealt with the occasion coolly to end Cornet's career 6-2, 6-1 in 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Afterwards, reflecting on her legacy in the sport and her popularity with both fans and fellow players, Cornet told press:

"I'd like to be remembered as a genuine player who shared all her emotions with everyone all throughout her career with a fighting spirit. Someone who is a passionate tennis player, who likes to fight and who could die for it.

"I think I showed it several times, that it was actually my type of character. People may love me or not for that type of personality, actually, but this is what brought me until here."

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Fanfares from the Philippe-Chatrier stands greeted Cornet's last dance before even the first point had been played, but it was Zheng who controlled the tempo of the match throughout. The 21-year-old tallied 25 winners to 19 unforced errors, successfully using her raw power to keep Cornet at bay.

The Frenchwoman roused local hopes briefly in the first set as she pulled back from 4-0 down to 4-2, and was able to show of her array of defensive spins and angles as she dragged Zheng into some excellent exchanges.

However, it was more often than not Zheng who came out on top of them -- she won 10 of the 15 rallies of nine shots or more -- frequently ending lung-busting points with delicate drop shots. Even some of the luck seemed to be on her side. As Zheng held a point to lead 3-1 in the second set, Cornet pulled off a superb half-volley that spun away from her opponent. Zheng, though, hared across the court to reach it, and found a backhand pass that clipped the net cord and bounced out of Cornet's reach.

Fanfares and chants to the tune of Seven Nation Army rang out again in the final game as Cornet boldly fended off the first three match points she faced. Appropriately, it took something special from Zheng to finally put the indefatigable 34-year-old away -- a beautifully angled forehand volley that cut of Cornet's attempted pass.

With that, the curtain was brought down on Cornet's career, which ended with her record 69th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance, and something of a full circle moment. Cornet had started her her Hologic WTA Tour career as a 15-year-old wild card at Roland Garros 2005, where she reached the second round before falling to the No.3 seed that year, Amélie Mauresmo. 

Now the Roland Garros tournament director, Mauresmo was there again. As a montage of her finest career moments played out on the Chatrier screen, Cornet was moved to tears -- and it was Mauresmo who drew her in for an embrace.

The significance of that wasn't lost on Cornet, who recalled being a ballgirl for the former World No.1 as well.

"I was selected to take the balls during this tournament, and Amélie was playing there," she said. "There was Venus Williams, Patty Schnyder, Justine Henin. It was wonderful. It was a first experience where I was close to the players.

"And when I think about it, when I think back now, Amélie Mauresmo is handing me the end-of-career trophy, and she's been there all the time. I think about all the journey behind me. Often we just don't go back in time. We don't think about what's happened. I will have time to do so in the weeks to come, and some nostalgia comes in as well."