USA’s Collins storms into Aussie semifinals
MELBOURNE, Australia — Danielle Collins has joined fellow American Madison Keys in the Australian Open semifinals.
Collins swung the match in her favor with a key service break in the final game of the opening set on her way to a 7-5, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Alize Cornet on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old American equaled her best previous performance at Melbourne Park. Collins also advanced to the semifinals in 2019, her previous best Grand Slam tournament result.
Collins underwent surgery last year to treat endometriosis. The condition had left her in severe pain during tournaments in 2021.
“It feels incredible, especially after some of the health challenges I’ve had,” Collins said in her post-match interview. “To be able to get back to this level and be able to compete like the way I have been and being able to be as physical as I haven’t been is so rewarding.”
Keys will play top-ranked Ash Barty in Thursday’s other semi.
The loss ended a strong run by Cornet, who played her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in her 63rd main-draw appearance. The French player had an upset victory over two-time major winner Simona Halep in the fourth round. The WTA says that Cornet should return to the top 50 in the rankings due to her performance here.
Collins will play former French Open champion Iga Swiatek, who defeated Kai Kanepi 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in a hard-fought, three-set match.
The 36-year-old Kanepi is ranked 115th but was playing in her seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal and was coming off an upset win over No. 2-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.
The 20-year-old Swiatek, the 2020 champion at Roland Garros, is in the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Swiatek has 30 wins in 32 matches against those ranked outside the top 30 in majors and also improved her record to having reached the fourth round at her past six Grand Slam tournaments.
Later Wednesday, secondseeded Daniil Medvedev was expecting to face one of the toughest challenges to his bid to collect a second consecutive Grand Slam singles title when he plays 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in a night match.
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas faced Jannik Sinner in the other men’s quarterfinal.