Upstart Collins makes semifinals

MELBOURNE, Australia – Until the Miami Open last year, where she surprisingly reached the semifinals, Danielle Collins was an under-the-radar former college player trying to do the unthinkable, make a name for herself in women’s tennis.

Now Collins, a vivacious, feisty, never-back-away-from-a-fight battler, is having the tournament of her life. In the lone women’s Australian Open quarterfinal battle between two unseeded players, Collins reached her first Grand Slam semifinal compliments of a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday.

“This has all been a really incredible experience,” said Collins, who started 2017 ranked No. 167 and was No. 36 to start this year. “This time last year I was playing a challenger (tournament) in Newport Beach (California). I think I’m really embracing it. It makes it a lot easier when you play in front of great fans and really good energy.”

After surrendering the first set quickly, Collins raced to a 5-2 lead, but then Pavlyuchenkova seemed to regain her footing. Collins would need to play five more games — and required three set points — before drawing the match even to one set apiece.

Riding the momentum, Collins raced to a 5-0 lead before Pavlyuchenkova managed to save a match point to hold her serve in the sixth game. But the effort was of little comfort for the Russian, who watched Collins take advantage of a third match point.

Collins will play eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a crafty southpaw, in the semifinals. She lost to Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, in the first round of the Brisbane tournament earlier this month. Kvitova beat local favorite Ash Barty, 6-1, 6-4.