Gazing out at the clay court beneath the brim of her visor, Danielle Collins stared down deficit as Jelena Ostapenko served for the first set today.

Collins never blinked.



In a battle of bold baseline players, Collins showed grit fighting off Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-3 to advance to her second straight Credit One Charleston Open quarterfinal.

It is Collins' third Charleston quarterfinal and first Tour-level quarterfinal since she fell to Iga Swiatek at the Paris Olympics last August.

Defending champion Collins conquered the 2017 Roland Garros champion by breaking back when Ostapenko served for the opening set at 5-4.

Collins cranked a buzzing return breaking back then stamped a love hold for 6-5. On her third set point, Collins converted to snatch a one-set lead.

World No. 22 Collins, who saw her Miami Open reign end at the hands of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-4, 6-4 last month, elevated again in the second set.

Down 2-3, Collins reeled off four games in a row to beat Ostapenko for the second time in four meetings.

The 14th-seeded Collins will face top-seeded Billie Jean King Cup teammate Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.

Making a smooth transition from Miami's hard court where she reached the Miami Open final, Pegula defeated Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2.

Hometown hero Emma Navarro, who recognized from fans in the stands from her local coffee shop, showed convincing comeback skills roaring into her maiden Charleston quarterfinal.

Facing a one-set, 0-2 deficit, Navarro applied her fast feet and fitness to transform the match winning 12 of the final 16 games in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback win over compatriot Ashlyn Krueger.

Merida champion Navarro reached her third career clay-court final.

Quick off the mark, Navarro stretched the court mixing some heavy topspin forehands with shorter slices to drag the 6’1” Krueger around, eventually wearing the talented 20-year-old down.

No. 4-seeded Navarro converted seven of 12 break points and won 24 of 34 points played on Krueger’s serve to key a two hour, eight-minute comeback win.

US Open semifinalist Navarro improved to 13-7 on the season.

The day began with seven American women in the sweet 16—the largest round-of-16 home presence since 2013—and two will square off for a semifinal spot.

Navarro will face her third straight American opponent when she faces red-hot Amanda Anisimova for a trip to the final four.

Earlier, Doha champion Anisimova overpowered crafty Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-4.



Anisimova, who ended Dubai and Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva’s 13-match WTA 1000 winning streak in a contentious clash in Miami last month, simply had too much firepower for Putintseva.

World No. 16 Anisimova continues to push toward a Top 10 debut. Today, Anisimova put on a masterful display of first-strike tennis. The former Roland Garros semifinalist served 73 percent, dropped only eight points on first serve and face only one break point.

Both Navarro and Anisimova grew up playing on Har-Tru, commonly called American green clay. Anisimova is 2-0 lifetime vs. Navarro.