Danielle Collins’ dream of winning the Australia Open came to a cruising end Thursday morning when two time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova overpowered her 7-6, 6-0 to advance to the finals.
“It means everything,” – Kvitova said of advancing into the finals. “I worked very hard to be again in the final of a major and finally I’ve made it deep at this major.”
Collins, 25, is a two time NCAA champion at the University of Virginia. On Thursday, her hopes of becoming the first collegiate to win a Grand Slam since fellow American Kathy Jordan accomplished the fete in 1983. However, she didn’t leave the tournament without a record as she equaled Meredith McGrath’s record of becoming the first collegian to reach a Grand Slam semifinals.
As good as Collins’ story to this year’s Australia Open semis is, it’s her opponent Kvitova who had the better night. In 2016, she was repeatedly stabbed in her playing left hand and offered no guarantees of a return to tennis after the incident.
She reached the quarters at the US Open in 2017 but she now has the chance to clinch a major title. The Czech native will face Japan’s Naomi Osaka who beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.
