Collins masters Muguruza in late French Open stunner

PARIS, France - Danielle Collins had to dig deep to reach the second week at Roland Garros for the first time after outlasting former champion Garbine Muguruza in three sets. 

In a roller coaster match that began outdoors on Court Suzanne Lenglen and finished under the roof at Philippe Chatrier, Collins came back from a double break deficit in the final set against Muguruza to claim a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 stunner after two hours and 28 minutes.

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“She was playing really well, and there was only so much I could do,” Collins told press, reflecting on her third-set comeback. “I just told myself, Okay, I've got to ride out the storm a little bit. Just give it all I have. Just stick through the process.

“It was really challenging at times because of how well she was playing, particularly how well she was serving. Some of the shots she was coming up with sometimes were just too good. I had to accept that and move on and just try to stay as positive as I could.”

Muguruza began all three sets with an early break, but things got complicated quickly as Collins fought her way back. Taking the court at Lenglen, Muguruza emerged victorious after a lengthy opening game, but had to halt play immediately as rain washed out play. 

Resuming an hour and a half later under the roof at Chatrier, the Spaniard consolidated the break to take a 2-0 lead. But Collins took advantage of a tentative service game from Muguruza to take the break right back, and level the score 2-2. 

Muguruza would go on to hold break points in two of Collins’ next four service games, but the American showed her grit as she denied Muguruza each time to keep them on serve. Collins finally broke through in the final game to dodge a tiebreak and take the set, 7-5. 

But the two-time Grand Slam winner stayed cool as she once again took an early lead against Collins in the second set, 2-0. This time, Muguruza’s serve kept her in control as she fired winners past Collins to break again and make it 4-1, serving out the set with confidence, 6-2. 

Muguruza seemed to be closing in on the finish line as she fought her way to a 3-0, double-break lead in the final set. Collins earned one of them back after a marathon battle for 3-1. Muguruza was a point away from taking a 5-2 lead as she held two break points - but she couldn’t convert as Collins stayed aggressive to cut down the deficit to 4-3. Things unraveled quickly for Muguruza as Collins found her best tennis the end, reeling off the last three games of the match to complete a hard-fought turnaround, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

“I think at 2-0 I went in with the mentality of trying to play a little bit more aggressive and to take some time away from her and to just step up and trust my shots,” Collins said. “That's what I was telling myself, just to trust myself and to do the best I could.

“Because she was playing incredible. I felt she couldn't have been serving any better in that second set and in the beginning of the third set, and I needed to do something different. So I needed to put some more pressure on her. That's exactly what I did the rest of the way through.”

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With the victory, Collins snapped Muguruza’s streak of reaching the second week at Roland Garros every year since 2014, including her title-winning run in 2016. She charges into the round of 16 in Paris for the first time, and just her second time reaching this stage at a Grand Slam overall after her breakthrough 2019 Australian Open semifinal run. 

“I'm feeling really accomplished,” she reflected. “It was one of the bigger wins in my career. She's an incredible champion, one of the best clay-courters on tour.

“So I'm just really excited that I was able to beat a player like her and now move forward into the tournament. I haven't made second week of a slam in a while, and it's been one of my goals this year. I'm just feeling really grateful.”

Collins moved on to face No.30 seed Ons Jabeur in the fourth round after the Tunisian stunned big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka, the No.8 seed, in three sets 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3. 

“She's had some incredible results” Collins said of Jabeur. “She's an unbelievable competitor. I think it's going to be a little bit different match than I faced today. 

“I'm going to have to sit down with [my new coach] Nico [Almagro] and I'm sure he's going to have some great advice for me moving forward.”