In the last three weeks, Danielle Collins won Palermo and San Jose. In the San Jose final, the American beat Russian Daria Kasatkinaa 6-3 6-7(10) 6-1, hitting some huge swings, with 54 winners and 12 aces.
Collins has now won 11th straight, and now, she will be ranked No. 28. She was hurt last year, physically, which is a professional tennis hazard as almost everyone gets injured eventually. However, on court, she looks fast, steady and aggressive.
“I just had to really kind of lock into that mentality of being really patient with myself, and putting myself in an aggressive position consistently, but also accepting the fact that there were going to be some errors and mistakes along the way,” Collins said.
This week, Collins spoke about the former No. 1, Serena Williams, who is friendly with her. The 23-time Grand Slam winner says that when you are on court, it is important to play with the attitude.
“She always offers something and you can always learn something from watching Serena. I think that’s really important for the younger generations is seeing the emotions she plays with and seeing the consistent positive attitude and self-belief that she has,” Collins said.
The 27-year-old does believe that Serena is the best player of all time. However, the Australian Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slams, but the 39-year-old Serena helps the other players.
“I think it’s so many things but she offers so much to us emotionally and she has inspired so many generations of tennis by her accomplishments but also the great things she does off the court by giving back,” Collins said. “She’s an incredible figure that we are so lucky to have in our sport. Just to see her over the years and become the greatest player of all time, it’s been wild.”
NOTES
This week in Canada, Sorana Cirstea continues to play better this year than she as for years. She looks much smarter on court.
American Amanda Anisimova is really struggling, but she did win a match on Monday. Two years ago, she was ranked No. 21. Now she is ranked No. 86. Time to go upwards…
Another American Tommy Paul, qualified, and in the first round, he beat Vasek
Pospisil on Monday. The now consistent Paul is ranked No. 56, and he should be able into the top 40s, next week. That would be a career high.
Reilly Opelka beat Nick Kyrgios in three tough sets. By the US Open, he should be ranked in top 30. The Americans need it. Better than nothing.
San Diego man Taylor Fritz lost again, and he plays every week.. Why? He has so much talent. He must be tired, traveling, from Europe to the United States. He must be tired, mentally. Take a breath.