Danielle
Collins (No. 15) survived a resilient Olga Danilovic (No. 122) and advanced to
the third round of the
Madrid Open with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) victory. The Serbian
tennis player held the advantage during the second set, but Collins regained
her best form to turn the incredible match around.
In the
first set, Collins faced more difficulties with her serve, conceding two break
points in the third game, but she managed to save them to maintain parity.
However, in her next service game, she gave her opponent another opportunity,
which Danilovic capitalized on to take a 3-2 lead. Collins quickly recovered
the break, but once again failed to hold her service game, allowing Danilovic
to take the lead 4-3. With no room for further discussion, the Serbian won the
set from her serve by 6-4.
In the
second set, things continued to look bleak for Collins, who lost her first
service game and fell behind 3-1. However, the American showed her usual
competitive spirit to overcome the difficulties and recover the break. At 5-4,
Collins seized a single break opportunity in her favor to win the set 6-4.
The former
Australian Open finalist notably increased her first-service percentage from
53% in the first set to 70%, and her effectiveness also grew from 72% to 86%,
demonstrating a high level of serving to play short points.
Collins won her first WTA 1000 at the Miami Open a month ago.
In the
decisive set, neither player gave opportunities to her opponent, and both held
their service games without much trouble. Danilovic saved a break point against
her at 3-4 and then secured a break to lead 5-4, giving her the chance to close
out the match on her serve.
Collins did
not give up and recovered the break to extend the match to a tie-break, where
she wasted five match points before sealing a tremendous victory at 4-6, 6-4,
7-6(8). In the third round, she will face the Romanian Jaqqueline Cristian (No.
73), who defeated former French Open champion
Barbora Krejcikova (No. 27).