After a trademark battle with an all-time legend, Danielle Collins regretted the fact that she couldn’t have done more to stem the tide of Serena Williams on Friday at Roland-Garros. But after the match, after she had shaken off the bitterness of defeat, she was quick to admit that she’s rooting hard for Serena to win the title at Roland Garros.
Collins said she told Williams as they embraced at the net after the match that she gave her some words of encouragement.
"That's exactly what I told her,” she said. “I said I'd love to see her win the whole thing and I'd be supporting her.
Collins continued, saying what an honor it was for her to share the court with Williams in Paris.
“She's the greatest player of all time,” she said. “I think we all admire and love Serena, especially the American players. I mean, it was pretty surreal today to go out there and be playing against somebody I remember watching at age nine and ten, playing here, to be here, to be sharing that court with her, this experience. I hope that I can be a steppingstone to her winning another slam. It would be really exciting and cool, so... I'm going to be following every point.”
A New Beginning
Collins was making her first appearance after having surgery to remove a tennis ball-sized growth from her uterus in April. The American was suffering from Endometriosis, a condition that she said led to all kinds of physical ailments over the years.
“I was really proud of myself for being able to win two matches here,” she said. “Originally I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to play the tournament or to be able to perform at a high level like I did.”
Collins admitted she was disappointed with the way her performance against Serena ended, but feels hopeful about the future for the first time in a while.
“I'm happy with how I did here, but obviously I would have liked to have done a little bit better. I think this is a new beginning in some ways. Now I'm not going to have to be dealing with so many of the issues I was dealing with before. Hopefully those issues stay away. You never know with this type of condition. Things can come back. I just hope and pray that things just keep going in the right direction for me physically and health-wise. Yeah, it's kind of like a new beginning. I think there's a lot to look forward to now going into the grass season.”