Collins's Australian Open Run Ends In Semifinals
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –Former Virginia women’s tennis standout Danielle Collins’s (2014-16) storybook run at the Australian Open came to an end in the semifinals on Wednesday night.
Collins, a two-time NCAA singles champion for the Cavaliers (2014, 2016), fell to eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova by a score of 7-6 (2), 6-0. It was the third matchup against a seeded player after Collins already dispatched of the tournament’s 14th-seeded player, 19th-seeded player and second-seeded player. She had never won a match at a Grand Slam event prior to the 2019 Australian Open and was the first collegiate woman to advance to the semifinals since Meredith McGrath at Wimbledon in 1996.
Collins won her first Grand Slam match on in the opening round, taking down the No. 14 seed Julia Goerges of Germany as she rallied for a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory.
The No. 35 player in the world in the WTA rankings at the start of the tournament, Collins continued her run with a victory over fellow American Sachia Vickery by a score of 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of action. She then defeated her second seeded player of the tournament in the third round, posting a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 19 seed Caroline Garcia to advance to the Round of 16. Collins followed it up with a straight-set win over No. 2 seed Anjelique Kerber to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Monday night, Collins rallied once again to secure her berth in the semifinals with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.
Collins won two NCAA singles titles for the Cavaliers (2014, 2016) becoming only the seventh woman in NCAA history to win to singles championships and the first woman from the ACC to accomplish the feat. She finished her career as the top-ranked collegiate women’s tennis player.
Professionally, she burst on the scene in early 2018 when she advanced to the Round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters with a win over then world No. 15 Madison Keys. Collins then followed that up with a run to the semifinals of the Miami Open with wins over world No. 16 Coco Vandeweghe and world No. 8 Venus Williams before falling to sixth-ranked Jelena Ostapenko.
COLLINS’S 2019 AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS
Round of 128: Collins def. No. 14 seed Julia Goerges (GER), 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
Round of 64: Collins def. Sachia Vickery (USA), 6-3, 7-5
Round of 32: Collins def. No. 19 seed Caroline Garcia (FRA), 6-3, 6-2
Round of 16: Collins def. No. 2 seed Anjelique Kerber (GER), 6-0, 6-2
Quarterfinals: Collins def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
Semifinals: No. 8 seed Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) def. Collins, 7-6 (2), 6-0
NEWS AGGREGATE FOR COLLINS AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Into The Australian Open Final Four Danielle Collins Feeling The Love Back Home – ESPN
Who Is Danielle Collins, The Fearless American Through To Australian Open Semifinals? – The Telegraph
Danielle Collins Continues Australian Open Run To Reach Semifinals – The Guardian
Fiesty Danielle Collins Embraces The Haters – TennisNow.com
Surprising American Danielle Collins Reaches Australian Open Semifinals – USAToday
From UVA To Australian Open Final Four: How Danielle Collins Broke Through – Sports Illustrated