Danielle Collins’ favorite player, for as long as she can remember, has been Venus Williams. Clearly, she was not star-struck when facing her idol.
Collins got the biggest win of her professional career on Wednesday night, shocking eighth-seeded Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the Miami Open quarter-finals.
Collins needed to survive two qualifying matches before making the main draw at Key Biscayne, and is now to meet sixth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko the semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
Ostapenko got her spot in the semi-finals by ousting fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) and is now to get the upstart Collins with a berth in tomorrow’s final at stake.
In the other women’s semi-final, 13th seed Sloane Stephens is set to meet three-time Miami champion Victoria Azarenka.
“The first time I saw Venus in the locker room, I nearly cried,” Collins said. “I mean, I’ve idolized her my whole life. She’s been my favorite player for forever. This is such a special moment, I’m just trying to wrap my head around it.”
Collins topped US Open finalist Madison Keys earlier this month at Indian Wells and made a much bigger statement with this win.
She threw both fists into the air when Williams could not handle a serve on Collins’ second match point, and even the three-time champion at Key Biscayne gave her a big smile when they shook hands at the net.
“I’m just starting to finally put all of the pieces together,” said Collins, the 2014 and 2016 NCAA champion at the University of Virginia.
Collins, No. 93 in the world for a few more days, will more than double her career earnings when the money from Miami arrives.
She arrived in Key Biscayne with US$305,385 in career earnings, which she will add at least US$327,965 to by advancing to the semi-finals.
She is also going to soar in the world rankings, to no lower than 67th.
No qualifier has ever gone this deep at Key Biscayne, although Collins looked perfectly comfortable on the stage.
She rarely faced trouble, offered confident fist pumps for much of the night and set the tone by breaking Williams — who has been playing professional matches for about as long as the 24-year-old has been alive — with her opening chance in each set.
And now Collins, who took the more unusual path through college to professional life, still has a shot at becoming perhaps Miami’s most surprising champion.
“You don’t have to do it the traditional way,” Williams said.
For as easy as Collins made it look on Wednesday night, John Isner had an even easier time in his men’s singles quarter-final.
Big-serving Isner made the Miami semi-finals for the second time in four years, needing just more than an hour to overpower South Korea’s Chung Hyeon 6-1, 6-4.
The 14th seed had 13 aces, won all but one of his 32 first-serve points and avenged a loss to 19th-seeded Chung in his first match of the year in Auckland in January.
“I played extremely well,” said Isner, who dropped six of his first eight matches of the year before arriving in Miami. “Every match I’ve played in this tournament, I’ve gotten better. I’ve gotten stronger and that’s a very, very good sign.”
While Isner was broken twice by Chung when they met in Auckland, he faced only one break point on Wednesday.
“It’s perfect conditions,” said Isner, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2015 semi-finals at Key Biscayne. “I’ve played well here in the past and I’m so happy that I’m playing well here again.”
He will hope that trend continues in the semi-finals.
Isner — who ousted second-seeded Marin Cilic earlier this week — is next to face Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, who rallied to beat 20th seed Milos Raonic of Canada 5-7, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/3) in the late match on Wednesday in a slugfest that lasted nearly three hours.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
RSS