Another week, another trophy for Danielle Collins.
The unseeded American won her 13th straight match and her second straight title with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory over No.4 seed Daria Kasatkina in the Credit One Charleston Open final on Sunday.
World No.22 Collins needed just 1 hour and 17 minutes to dismiss 11th-ranked Kasatkina and back up her hard-court Miami Open title from last week with another crown on a different surface, green clay.
The last player to win Miami and Charleston in the same year was her fellow American Serena Williams in 2013 (Williams also pulled off the feat in 2008).
Words from the winner: "I had a lot of matches in Miami, and I had a lot of matches here," Collins said in her champions' press conference. "I had, at one point in this tournament, two matches in one day, which is not easy to pull off. I don't know if I've done that before as a professional. I feel like the last time I did that was like in 12-and-unders.
"So to be able to physically battle and push myself to a new limit gives me a lot of confidence. I've been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I've been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic."
the star of the show, Mr. Q 🐶
— wta (@WTA) April 7, 2024
Danielle Collins gives the love of her life a special shout out!#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/3Np9RXrd9t
Stat corner: With 13 straight match-wins, Collins' current run stands alone as the longest tour-level winning streak of her career. Her new personal record bests her 12-match win streak from 2021, which also spanned surfaces and included two straight titles (though not in back-to-back weeks).
In that 2021 run, Collins won in Palermo, Italy on clay, picked up the San Jose hard-court title a few weeks later in California (beating Kasatkina in the final, no less) and reached the Montreal Round of 16 before finally being stopped by Jessica Pegula.
Collins is now the fourth unseeded player to win the Charleston title, joining Iva Majoli in 2002, Justine Henin in 2005, and Kasatkina herself, who won her maiden WTA singles title in Charleston in 2017.
After her exploits in Miami and Charleston, former World No.7 Collins will likely be seeded at most, if not all of her events for the rest of her career, before her announced retirement later this season. Collins, who started February ranked World No.71, is projected to re-enter the Top 15 on Monday.
reunited and it feels so good 🥰
— wta (@WTA) April 7, 2024
Danielle Collins and her dog, Quincy!#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/SWIJyYbOkb
Match breakdown: A pivotal 12-minute game occurred early in the final, where Collins withstood eight deuces before converting her fourth break point with a backhand crosscourt winner to lead 2-0. From there, the American cruised through the opener, never facing a break point.
Collins romped to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Kasatkina garnered her first two break points of the day. However, Collins dominated with her forehand to swipe those chances away in a tricky hold for 5-0. Kasatkina was able to avoid the bagel, but Collins routinely served out the match, keeping her winning streak alive heading into the European portion of the clay-court season.
On Sunday, Collins fired 37 winners to just 10 from Kasatkina. In addition to saving both of the break points she faced, Collins was nearly perfect behind her first serve, winning 95 percent of those points.
🏆 first team title 🏆#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/3k63rJMVw9
— wta (@WTA) April 7, 2024
Krueger, Stephens claim maiden doubles title: Americans won all of the titles in South Carolina on Sunday, with wild cards Ashlyn Krueger and Sloane Stephens outlasting Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok 1-6, 6-3, [10-7] in the doubles final.
Read more: A message to competitors: Ashlyn Krueger is making her move
The 1-hour and 19-minute final was a milestone for both 2017 US Open singles champion Stephens and rising teenager Krueger -- this is the first WTA doubles title for each of the Americans.
The breakthrough is the culmination of a successful season for the Krueger/Stephens pairing. In their first-ever event together, they reached the Brisbane quarterfinals in January, then made their first WTA 1000 quarterfinal last week in Miami. Together, they are 8-3 on the season.