By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, January 23, 2022

 

Danielle Collins hit 45 winners edging Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second time.

Photo credit: Getty

Rod Laver Arena was broiling like a boiler room.

Danielle Collins was feeling the heat.

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Down a set to Australian Open doubles champion Elise Mertens, a pained Collins was bouncing her Babolat racquet off the court and declined to sit down on changeovers.

A defiant Collins made a stirring stand.

Collins crunched 45 winners fighting off Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a fierce two hour, 51-minute battle to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second time.

Both women showed serious heart and grit in a punishing baseline battle that ended with Mertens netting her ninth double fault.

“I think I had my ups and downs during the matches mentally and physically,” Collins said. “Elise was really working me to the max. She’s one of the best anticipators on the tour so sometimes I was having to win the points five, six and seven times.

“Some of the points were incredible how many balls she was getting back. Shots that I thought were winners sometimes they weren’t. So I just had to try to put some pressure on her and try to come up with some big shots because that’s all you can do against someone who’s such a good anticipator.”

A gutsy comeback comes one round after Collins conquered Clara Tauson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours, 35 minutes and marks the first time in her 40-match major career she's fought back from a set down to prevail in successive matches.

The 27th-seeded Collins joins Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys as the third American woman into the final eight.

A 2018 AO semifinalist, Collins will play either former world No. 1 Simona Halep or Frenchwoman Alize Cornet for a place in the final four.

The feisty Collins grew up playing on public courts in Florida and embraces the sun, heat and sweat of Melbourne. Collins’ appetite for the fight and emotional exuberance recalls another Floridian, two-time AO champion Jennifer Capriati, who won her second Melbourne major 20 years ago.

After improving her AO record to 11-3, Collins explained her committed stand candidly.

“I was a little scared I wasn’t gonna get back up if I sat down,” a smiling Collins told ESPN’s Darren Cahill afterward. “I was even nervous going to bathroom between sets. Just a lot of tightness in my back and a lot of pain so I’m just trying to manage it.

“I think I took enough anti-inflammatories to last me the rest of the day so hopefully I pull up a little bit better next time.”

The 28-year-old Collins won the toss, elected to serve and despite soaking in an eyeful of the high sun held to open. Down triple break point, Mertens delivered a pair of paces only to float a forehand to drop serve in her opening game. Collins churned through a six-and-a-half minute hold confirming the beak for 3-0.

The 19th-seeded Belgian began elevating her topspin forehand playing with more height on our drives to push Collins back. Mertens drew the netted error to break back in the fifth game as an irate Collins bounced her black-and-yellow Babolat stick off the blue hard court in frustration.

Taking a backhand on the rise, Mertens belted a crosscourt winner leveling after six games. Creating sharp angles with her backhand, Mertens battled through a 14-shot rally breaking for her fourth straight game and a 4-3 lead.

A cranky Collins tossed her racquet again seeing her lead dissolve amid the heat. The 2018 semifinalist denied a pair of break points holding with a shout for her fifth consecutive game. Collins flashed a forehand to fight off a match point holding in the ninth game to stall her five-game slide.

Serving for the set, Mertens erased a break point hitting her backhand behind the American. On her third set point, Mertens drew a forehand error snatching a physical 57-minute opener.

Clutching at her lower back between points, Collins played through the apparent aches and created a sense of déjà vu busting out to her second straight 3-0 lead.

The 27th-seeded American was standing on most changeovers during the second set. Actively stepping into the court trying to shorten points, Collins was taking the ball on the rise when she could and pushing the Belgian into the corners. Collins assertive attitude paid off. Ninety-nine minutes into the match, Collins won a punishing rally with a finishing forehand. That exchange helped her hold for 5-2.



Serving to force a third set, Collins ran into complications as Mertens banged a pair of backhand winners down the line for break points. Though Collins saved both she wailed a high forehand wide as Mertens broke back in the ninth game.

The Belgian’s defensive skill helped her extend points, but Collins kept taking her cracks. Torching a series of deep returns at her opponents shoes, Collins earned triple set point then spun a forehand down the line breaking to force a final set after one hour, 53 minutes.

The reigning AO doubles champion repelled break points in her opening service game of the decider. Then Mertens went to work attacking behind a backhand down the line to break at love for 2-1 with a clear “come on!”

Answering immediately, Collins swatted a series of forehand swing volleys to break back in the fourth game. The two-hander is Collins’ signature shot and she slashed it decisively down the line holding for 4-3.

When Collins drilled a diagonal forehand winner holding for 5-4 she erupted with a double “come on!” four points from a quarterfinal return.

Burying her backhand crosscourt, Collins coaxed a floated error for double match point. Mertens saved both spinning a heavy second serve to set up a forehand winner drawing even at deuce.

Collins cracked another backhand winner for match point number three. A fierce fight ended with a soft thud as Mertens pushed her ninth double fault.

No rest for the weary Collins, who was scheduled to play a third round doubles match against the top-ranked team of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova about 90 minutes after her spirited singles stand. 

"I think today it was especially really physically tough for me I played a long match the other day I spent about two and a half hours on court," Collins said. "I played doubles for an hour and a half. I spent about five hours on court so I had to make a lot of technical adjustments to be able to get myself to be comfortable moving around and especially serving.

"So that was a big challenge and now I’m getting ready for doubles in next hour and a half."