Roland Garros: Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020
Match details
Fixture: (30) Ons Jabeur vs Danielle Collins
Date: 6 October 2020
Tournament: Roland Garros 2020
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: Approx. €38,000,000
Match timing: 11 am CEST, 2.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur preview
30th seed Ons Jabeur will aim to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the first time in her career when she takes on the unseeded Danielle Collins in a fourth-round clash on Monday.
For the patient 26-year-old Ons Jabeur, success has been a long time coming. Jabeur had given a brilliant teaser of her skills when she won the junior French Open title in 2011. But having created a host of records for Arab tennis, the Tunisian took time to settle into the circuit at the senior level.
Since 2017, Jabeur has been far more consistent with her results. And 2020 is on track to become her most successful season on tour.
Jabeur has made it to four quarterfinals in her career-best season, with one of them coming at the Australian Open. Her exploits propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 31 in August.
The current World No. 35 hopes to crack the quarter-finals once again at a Major following wins over Zarina Diyas, Nao Hibino and eighth seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Meanwhile Danielle Collins, known for her explosive style, has broken new ground at Roland Garros this year. In all her previous trips to Paris, the American had never made it past the second round. But she's now into the second week, and looking good for more.
What's more admirable is the fact that Collins had a dismal 6-5 record for the year entering Roland Garros. Having started 2020 on a strong note by reaching the quarterfinals in Brisbane and the semifinals in Adelaide, the American soon went on a downward spiral, and was on a three-match losing streak entering Roland Garros.
Given that Collins hadn't played a single match on clay this season, it would've been tough for any tennis pundit to envisage her performing as well as she has this time around. The 26-year-old, who made a surprise run to the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2019, has beaten Monica Niculescu, Clara Tauson and the in-form Garbine Muguruza this week to reach the fourth round.
The resilience that Collins showed against former champion Muguruza after being a double break down in the final set speaks volumes of the belief she has in her abilities.
Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head
Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins have never faced off on the tour before, so their current head-to-head record stands at 0-0.
Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur prediction
This match will see a fascinating contrast of styles. While Danielle Collins is known as one of the hardest hitters on the tour, Ons Jabeur likes to employ a lot of variety in her strokes.
Collins' 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over the 11th seed Muguruza after being a point away from going 0-4 down in the decider would have boosted her confidence a great deal. The comeback showed her staunch determination and ability to reset quickly, as well as her fearlessness in the face of adversity.
She will hope to bring the same aggressive brand of tennis against Jabeur, but the Tunisian's game will provide a different challenge altogether.
Jabeur thrives on mixing up her shots and spins, and will throw in a lot of slices and drop shots to disrupt Collins' rhythm. The 30th seed also showed in her match with Sabalenka that she can blunt the aggression of big hitters, and squeeze out unforced errors from their racquets.
The Sabalenka encounter in particular might have given Jabeur the necessary groundwork to handle the Collins test as she eyes her second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season.
Prediction: Ons Jabeur to win in three sets.