Danielle Collins, ranked 30th in the world, stunned No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the 2022 Australian Open on Thursday.
Collins, the No. 27 seed, defeated the No. 9 player in the world, Swiatek, 6-4, 6-1, to advance to her maiden Grand Slam final.
The American tennis player is now assured of breaking into the Top 10 next week, moving over her previous career high of No. 23 achieved in January 2019.
After having surgery to remove endometrial tissue in March, she went on to win her first two WTA tournaments in Palermo and San Jose and improve her overall record to 36-10.
Danielle Collins has Joined Fellow American Madison Keys in the Australian Open Semifinals
Collins defeated Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday to go to the semifinals. The turning point of the match occurred in the final game of the first set, when Collins broke Cornet’s serve.
The American, who is now 28 years old, tied her career-best performance at Melbourne Park by reaching the semifinals. Her previous best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was in 2019.
Collins had surgery for endometriosis last year, and the ailment will still cause her significant agony throughout 2021 competitions.
As a result of the loss, Cornet’s impressive run came to an end; she had reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her 63rd main-draw participation.
In the fourth round, the French player shocked the world by defeating Simona Halep, winner of two majors. The WTA believes that Cornet’s performance here warrants a return to the top 50 in the rankings.
Swiatek Defeats Veteran Kanepi, Reaches Semis
Collins will face former French Open winner Iga Swiatek in the other semi, who won her first Australian Open match.
By defeating Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 despite playing in extreme temperatures. After winning the first set and breaking early in the second, Kanepi, 36.
Appeared poised to advance past the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, prompting a disgruntled Swiatek to smack herself and slam her racquet on the court.
Conclusion
Collins, now 28 years old, made her intentions obvious from the start, as she blasted a series of returns as hard and deep as she could in an effort to completely overpower Swiatek with first-strike tennis.
Collins’ dedication to this goal remained unwavering throughout the match, and her excellent execution barely slowed down.
With only 13 unforced errors, she smashed 27 winners, seven of which came off the return. Collins was successful in defending her serve against Swiatek’s second serve 86% of the time.
