Tennis Sensation Danielle Collins Continues Impressive Run, Reaches Italian Open Semifinals
Rome, May 17th – Danielle Collins, the 15th-ranked American tennis player, has been on an absolute tear lately, and her impressive form continued at the Italian Open. The 29-year-old defeated former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals in Rome, extending her impressive record to 19-1 since early March.
Collins, who has won back-to-back titles in Miami and Charleston, South Carolina, recently, has yet to drop a set on the red clay of Rome. The American’s aggressive baseline play frustrated Azarenka, and she even took out her frustration on a TV cameraman at one point, telling him to “back up a little bit” during a changeover.
Clutch Serving Helps Collins Close Out the Match
Despite a few heated moments, including Collins slamming her racket after wasting a series of break points, the Florida native came up with some clutch serving to close out the match, finishing with six aces to Azarenka’s none.
“I feel dialed in with my shots and I’ve gotten better at hitting those small parts of the court,” Collins said after the match.
Sabalenka Advances to Semifinal Matchup with Collins
Collins’ semifinal opponent will be Aryna Sabalenka, who showed no ill-effects from her previous marathon match as she eased past Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, 6-2, 6-4.
Sabalenka’s win over Collins in the fourth round of the Madrid Open marked the American’s only loss since a defeat to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells on March 8. All three top-ranked women have now reached the final four in Rome, with Swiatek set to face Coco Gauff in the other semifinal.
Tabilo Extends Surprising Run in Men’s Action
In men’s action, 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile extended his surprising run by beating Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-4 to follow up his upset victories over Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the previous two rounds. Tabilo will face 2017 champion Alexander Zverev in his first Masters series semifinal.
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