“I almost teared up” – Danielle Collins overwhelmed by Andre Agassi’s presence during her win over Elena Rybakina in Miami Open final
Danielle Collins has stated that seeing Andre Agassi sitting in the stands to watch her compete against Elena Rybakina in the women's singles final of the Miami Open 2024 filled her with emotions.
Collins downed Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday, March 30, to lay hands on the Miami Open women's singles trophy. She did it by winning 82 points out of the total 157 during the Saturday showdown.
Both Collins and Rybakina showed great discipline in the opening set as they remained on serve until the former managed to convert a break point in the 12th game to take the lead.
The following set opened to a relatively tumultuous start as Collins and Rybakina exchanged breaks in the second and third games. The two then returned to holding their respective serves for the next four games. Collins, however, broke the Kazakhistani's serve in the eighth game and held her own in the ninth to clinch victory.
Collins, who was happy for the win itself in the first place, told the Tennis Channel after the match that Agassi's presence in the stands added more to her victory emotionally.
"When I saw Andre was watching the match, I almost teared up, I'm like, 'This is surreal, I used to watch this guy on TV as a kid and now I’m here and he’s in the stands.' It's just been a crazy ride so I'm just so grateful," she said [at 6:58].
Notably, Agassi, alongside Novak Djokovic, holds the men's singles record of winning the most Miami Open titles. He has triumphed at Miami Gardens six times, doing so in 1990, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, and 2003.
The American defeated Stefan Edberg in the 1990 final, Pete Sampras in 1995, Goran Ivanisevic in 1996, Jan Michael-Gambill in 2001, Roger Federer in 2002, and Carlos Moya in 2003.
Danielle Collins: "Andre Agassi was my ‘return idol’"
Danielle Collins also told the aforementioned source that she used to idolize Andre Agassi for his return-making ability.
"Andre Agassi was my ‘return idol’. I can't tell you how much footage I watched of Andre staying inside the baseline, ripping returns," Collins said.
As far as Agassi's numbers are concerned, his first serve win percentage on return stood at 32% at the time he retired in the year 2006. On the second serve, he managed to win a staggering 56% of the return points since turning pro in 1986.
In total, Agassi won 60 tour titles, including eight Grand Slams and an Olympic gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.