"Great week, hoping to keep the level up" - Danielle Collins on how she plans to 'bring her A-game' against Iga Swiatek at Canadian Open
Danielle Collins' dream week is set to continue at the 2023 Canadian Open after she bettered Leylah Fernandez in a third-round match on Friday.
Collins, who is playing in Montreal as a qualifier, came up against Fernandez, the only Canadian remaining in the draw. The match was another straightforward victory for the American as she broke Fernandez's serve thrice (twice in the first set and once in the second) to win with a 6-2, 6-3 scoreline. Moreover, Collins did not face a single break point throughout the match.
Danielle Collins will next face World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The 29-year-old reflected on her strategy, hoping to bring her best game against the world's top player. Collins stated that she is also aware of how her previous matches have gone against the Pole.
"I've played Iga I think twice now. The first time went better than the second time, so just fingers crossed that I bring my A-game and put on a good show for everyone," Collins said in her post-match press conference.
The two women have faced each other thrice on the WTA Tour thus far. The first contest was at the 2021 Adelaide International 1, where Collins was forced to retire mid-match. She leveled the head-to-head in the semifinals of the 2022 Australian Open, winning 6-4, 6-1. Swiatek then registered her second victory over Collins at the 2023 Qatar Open with a 6-0, 6-1 scoreline.
Collins is hoping to maintain her excellent form at the Canadian Open. For now, she plans to take it one match at a time, do her "homework," and not look too far ahead.
"It's been a great week, and I've had a lot of matches. So, yeah, I'm hoping to keep the level up. We're going to go home tonight and do some homework and sit down. We've been taking it one match at a time and not really looking too far ahead. So we need to do our homework," she said.
Danielle Collins defeated Elina Svitolina and Maria Sakkari at the Canadian Open
The World No. 48 entered the main draw at the Canadian Open after a brutal qualifying campaign. She had to go through home favorite Eugenie Bouchard (6-1, 1-6, 6-1) and fellow American Emina Bektas [7-5, 6-7 (10), 7-5] in grueling three-sets matches. Collins spent nearly four hours on the court during her qualifying campaign.
However, her performance in the main draw has been polar opposite. Danielle Collins first faced World No. 27 Elina Svitolina, who has been having a resurgent season in 2023 after returning to the WTA Tour in April. The American had no trouble getting past Svitolina, beating her 6-2, 6-2.
The win set up an exciting encounter against World No. 8 Maria Sakkari in the second round. The Greek, who was pegged as one of the tournament's favorites after reaching the final at the Citi Open a week earlier, had no answers to Collins' firepower.
The former World No. 7 swept aside Sakkari 6-4, 6-2, thereby winning two consecutive matches on the WTA Tour for the first time since March.