Danielle Collins comes from behind to beat Elise Mertens and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals

Danielle Collins is into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the second time in her career after beating Elise Mertens 4-6 6-4 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena. In the third meeting between the two, the 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist came out on top with her aggressive brand of tennis, hitting 45 winners, and she found a way past Mertens’ plucky defensive game. Ad/> Collins will face either Simona Halep or Alize Cornet in the next round and it means there will be three American women in the last eight.

Australian OpenCollins fights back to beat Tauson; Halep, Sabalenka through22/01/2022 AT 00:08 /> «I think I had my ups and downs during the matches mentally and physically,» Collins said afterwards. «Elise was really working me to the max. She is one of the best anticipators on tour.

Some of the points were incredible the balls she was getting back and shots that I thought were winner sometimes weren't. »I had to put the pressure on and put in big shots because that's sometimes that's all you can do against such a good anticipator." Collins raced into a 3-0 lead in the opening set, but Mertens cleaned up her unforced errors and responded by reeling off five successive games with some smart defensive tennis from the baseline, much to the frustration of the American who twice smashed her racquet against the ground. Collins saved a set point as she pulled a game back, but the Belgian finished off the 57-minute opener on her third set point as her opponent fired a forehand into the trams.