By Chris Oddo | @Thefanchild | Saturday 10 May 2025
Danielle CollinsGuru clay? This is usually the field of IgA swiatekBut after the American kidnapped her six game by losing her belt against Rome three times champion Saturday in Foro Italy, it’s time to give her 31-year-old Florida local because of her.
It has been 23-6 on the surface since the beginning of 2024, and hopes that it can extend its stay in Rome after reaching the 16th round Collins, who reached the semifinal in Rome last year, will face other Elina Svitolina.
“I’m just hugging the pickup to get these clay matches,” she told reporters after her 6-1, 7-5 win over the four-time Roland-Garros champion. “I really want to have a longer season of the clay court. It is a part of the season that I really like because I think the clay is so special. It is a beautiful kind in the body, too – I will not lie – compared to difficult courts.”
An explosion from the past
We don’t hear a lot of players talking Elena DemenievFormer Bota No. 3 that won 16 titles and was considered one of the best players who had never won a major, but Collins gave Russian praise in a roundabout when asked how she was able to get a match against Swiate while she did only 47.7 percent of her first services.
“Growing up, I saw a lot of Elena dementiava … Elena dementiava made a career for herself by not making many first services,” Collins said. “It was a really strict blow to her. She had so many other special parts of her game that made her the player she was athletic.
“Sometimes when I have a bad service day I think of Elena dementiava and all the things she was able to achieve even when the first service or service was not working well for her.
“This simply tells you that you may have a playing field not to be effective one day, but if you have other skills and talent, you can apply it and really achieve some great things.”
IgA clay problems continue in Rome, while Danielle Collins moves to the three -time champion in an upset Romehttps://t.co/uin3fqkmtq pic.twitter.com/sjhubrylrf
– Tenisnow (@tennis_now) 10 May 2025
Overcoming the doubts
For Collins, obtaining a victory over Swiatik was a self -esteem exercise. She talked about the fact that she felt playing some of her best tennis in the loss against Swiatek and simply had to do the same to win a victory over world no.2.
“I feel like IgA and I have played so many times at this point. When you have a loser record against someone, you lose many matches that are so close, I feel like learning something from it,” she said. “I’ve been able to make adjustments from the losses of the past and execute really well. I feel like my time was really, and I feel like the level IgA and these high players play, really bring some of my high tennis from time to time, even if some of these matches have not gone my way.
Collins said she was able to stay calm at the time of the crisis, and it was clear after dealing with Swiatek saving a point of matching at five. She continued to sell the ball and got the last two games to complete the victory.
“Of course I think nerves always try to help you feed you and get that adrenaline by going and in those high -pressure moments you ultimately want to try to bloom in those moments, and I feel like today my execution was really, my shots were really called and I was very clear with what I had to do, and be without patience, and I did it exactly. “
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SBHK_asuly
New coach, new energy?
Collins has worked with a new coach, Fanni Varga, and says her collaboration with the former WTA player from Romania has helped her find a better emotional balance in her tennis.
“I think it’s not easy as it lost a lot of matches in a row against a tough opponent and someone who is one of the best in the world,” she said. “Just taking it and learning from it. I feel like my coach, too, it has been such a soothing presence and this is a great player of the game, helping me with the mental side, and simply being so encouraging. And also keeping responsible when I have to be held accountable. It has been so great working with my new coach, I just love her soothing.
“It’s a balancing thing. I’ve been very cold (sometimes) and that didn’t go well for me. Today was a really good balance, that’s something I worked on,” she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzdio1eby5q
It may seem a little strange, as Collins was essentially on a farewell tour in 2024, after announcing plans to retire. But things changed in her personal life and she decided that she would have more to give this sport. Maybe the former Finalist of Grand Slam and the World No. 7, now 31, will use her new clarity to reach a level she has never hit before?
“I’ve tried to go to trial and just focus on my game plan and try to work not too high at high levels and not much lower because I can be a little a perfectionist,” she said. “Sometimes being a perfectionist and having that self-reflection is really good, and ultimately makes us compete at the highest level, but it can also be a lot for us to treat sometimes and when you go too far with it can be negative.
