Kontaveit conquers Collins in US Open first round

NEW YORK, NY, USA -- No.14 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia pulled off a comeback victory in the opening round of the 2020 US Open, staving off an upset bid from American Danielle Collins to prevail 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 at the Grand Slam event.

"[Collins] came out playing great," Kontaveit told the press, after her win. "I think she was hitting it really strong, moving me around the court, hitting winners. I felt like I played the same the whole match, I was just really trying to stay tough, maintain my level, and I feel like I did that really well."

World No.21 Kontaveit, who pushed eventual finalist Naomi Osaka into a tight third set in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals last week, dropped an extremely close first set but stormed back to overcome 55th-ranked Collins after two hours and six minutes of play, in the first meeting between the pair.

"I never stopped believing that I could come back after the first set," Kontaveit continued. "I just had to stay really tough and fight as hard as I could, and I managed to do that. It definitely helped that I had played a lot of matches and had to get through a lot of tough matches."

The Estonian, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal earlier this year at the Australian Open, played a clean match overall, with a whopping 30 winners well outpacing her 14 unforced errors. Kontaveit ramped up her game when she needed to most, and only hit a single unforced error in the second set which helped to kickstart her comeback.

Collins, a semifinalist at the 2019 Australian Open, fired 35 winners of her own, but 30 unforced errors were too many to keep pace with Kontaveit's improving play down the stretch.

Kontaveit is surely looking to match or better her best-ever showing at the US Open, which was a run to the round of 16 as a qualifier in her tournament debut in 2015. Next up for the Estonian will be Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan in the second round, which will be their first meeting.

"I remember seeing [Juvan] in Palermo, and she had a good win against Vondrousova," said Kontaveit. "She’s been playing well, so it’s definitely going to be tough. I mean, it’s never easy here. I’m playing well and I’m really looking forward to it, and I’m excited for the matches coming up."

Collins got off the match to a flying start, saving break points and coming up with some big winners down the line to hold for 2-1, then using a pinpoint passing winner off the forehand side to break for 3-1. After a quick consolidation was attained with an ace to hold, the American was in control with a 4-1 lead.

Kontaveit, though, continued to strike, and she took her next two service games at love to stay within touching distance. With Collins serving for the set at 5-3, the Estonian took her chance, powering a forehand winner crosscourt to reach double break point. Collins then fired a forehand wide on the first break point, allowing Kontaveit to pull back on serve.

Collins, however, would end the set with a flourish. After a determined love hold for 6-5, the American blasted a backhand winner in the next game to queue up set point. Kontaveit erased that opportunity, but an untimely double fault by the Estonian gave Collins a second chance. On that occasion, Kontaveit sent a backhand miscue long, giving Collins a well-earned one-set lead. 

It was Kontaveit, though, who stormed through the second set. The aggressive play by the Estonian gave her a quick break in the first game, and nearly went up an immediate double-break before Collins erased a break point with a scintillating backhand winner down the line to hold for 2-1.

But the Estonian did eventually claim that commanding lead, using a winning backhand to set up a break point for the 5-2 advantage, and taking that opportunity with a powerful service return. An overpowering love hold in the next game, culminating with a backhand winner square on the baseline, gave Kontaveit a 6-2 second set to level the affair.

The final set commenced with a crucial three-deuce game, where powerful groundstrokes by the Estonian erased three game points for Collins to hold her opening service. Eventually, the American slammed back-to-back forehand miscues, and once again, Kontaveit had claimed a critical early break.

Kontaveit was forced to come back from 0-30 down in her next two service games, but she was able to fend off the barrage of big hitting by Collins and used improving defensive skills to draw errors from her opponent. The 14th seed was rewarded for her resilience with a second break to take a sturdy 4-1 lead.

A swift hold by Collins to reach 5-2 would not derail Kontaveit’s momentum, and the Estonian slammed a strong serve to reach double match point in the next game. Kontaveit would only need one, as a fierce forehand forced an error from Collins, sending the seeded player into the second round.