“Took in the new year with Ons Jabeur and her husband last year” – Danielle Collins on her bond with Tunisian ahead of Charleston Open 2R clash
Danielle Collins will take on Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Charleston Open.
The American advanced to the second round of the WTA 500 event with an easy win over Spain's Paula Badosa on Tuesday, April 2.
Collins continued with her prime form against Badosa as she broke the latter five times and smashed eight aces in the opening round to win the match 6-1, 6-4. This was notably her second victory over Badosa, having previously defeated the Spaniard in the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open two years ago.
Collins is next scheduled for a meeting with defending champion and second seed Ons Jabeur, with whom, she shares an amicable bond off the court. The American conveyed the same during her on-court interview on Tuesday when she recounted celebrating the New Year with the Tunisian and her husband Karim Kamoun once.
"Ons & I have had great memories on and off court. Took in the new year with her and her husband last year, so that was pretty fun," she said.
The Miami Open champion further suggested that Jabeur would enjoy more support at the Charleston Open. The crowd in attendance, however, corrected Collins then and there that she was wrong. Collins said:
"She'll definitely be the fan favorite and I'm going to come out here and... I mean coming out here and having such great support for all of the athletes, this is all of our favorite event.
"But you know, everybody loves Ons and she has a huge fan base, there's no denying that so it's gonna be a tough match. We've played some incredible battles and obviously I'm familiar with her game but I need to recover, prepare, and just get myself ready," she added.
Danielle Collins leads Ons Jabeur 2-1 in head to head
Danielle Collins and Ons Jabeur have played against each other three thus far and their current head-to-head tally currently stands at 2-1 in the American's favor.
The two first clashed in the fourth round of the 2020 French Open, where Collins outperformed Jabeur in a three-setter and won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
They played their second match in the third round of the 2021 BNP Paribas Open and Jabeur ended up as the winner, triumphing 6-1, 6-3. Danielle Collins, however, restored her head-to-head lead after beating Jabeur 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round of the 2022 Miami Open.