In a matched rescheduled from Monday to Tuesday because of rain, American world No.57 Danielle Collins knocked out 30th seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-4 4-6 6-4 to complete the quarterfinal field at the 2020 French Open.
The fourth-round clash opened calmly, with short games and solid holds of serve on both sides. The situation heated up in the seventh game, when Collins earned first break points in the match at 4-3. Even though Jabeur managed to fight them off and level to 4-4, the Tunisian’s level drastically declined from then on and Collins surged to a 6-4 3-0 lead, winning most of the points in that stretch.
Just as it looked like Jabeur was finished, the first Arab woman contesting the French Open fourth round won five games in a row, including one love break to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win the second set.
The momentum was seemingly on Jabeur’s side, as she opened the decider by breaking Collins, but it turned out that it was just the first of seven breaks in the set. The turning point was probably when Collins dug out of a 0-40 hole to be the first player to hold serve for a 3-2 lead in the third set and then another break took her to 4-2. The 26-year-old Jabeur broke back right away, but she made her first double fault in the match while serving for 5-5 and handed Collins a break/match point, which the American readily converted.
Collins’ quarterfinal opponent will be compatriot Sofia Kenin, who surged back from a set down to defeat Fiona Ferro of France 2-6 6-2 6-1 on Monday.
Bravo, Danielle! This was just like her 4th round match with Muguruza. Collins wins the first set, then it looks like Jabeur will take the momentum away and look like she will win the match, just like Garbine did. Only to have Danielle steal the match at the end! 2 luv Danielle’s long pony tail. Does she not have the longest hair in the WTA?
Excuse me, Collins and Muguruza was a 3rd round match.
Jim, Danielle was so determined to win. She screamed after many points and never lost her focus. I’m not sure about her hair length, but retired Anna Chakvetadze comes to mind as a player who had longer hair (she wore a braid).