Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek have joined Madison Keys and Ashleigh Barty as the second pair in the 2022 Australian Open semifinals.
Three years ago, Danielle Collins had a breakthrough run to the semifinals of the Australian Open and now the American repeated the feat with a 7-5 6-1 victory over France’s Alize Cornet in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
The 27th-seeded Collins opened the match with a 4-1 lead. The world No.61 Cornet leveled the first set at 5-5, but Collins decisively broke in the 12th game that proved to be the final game of a tight first set. The second set was straightforward, lasting only 30 minutes, as Collins won the opening five games.
If Collins wins her next match, she could break into the Top 10.
Last year in April, Collins underwent a successful, life-changing surgery for extremely painful period cramping. Then, the best tennis of her career was unleashed. Talking to the WTA’s Courtney Nguyen after winning the 2021 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, Collins explained the seriousness of her health condition that was shrug off as normal period pain by the majority of doctors:
The agony that I experienced from my menstrual cycles and from the endometriosis is some of the worst pain I’ve ever had. It was scary at times.
For the longest time Collins tried to ignore the pain, took anti-inflammatories, and focused on her career, but the condition got progressively worse and it couldn’t be ignored any longer:
I would have flu-like symptoms, fever, throwing up, being in the bathroom for hours, not being able to get out of bed, being in so much pain throughout my body that it was impossible to play matches. Having to pull out of tournaments, having to retire in the middle of matches because of how sick and how much pain I was in.
In the other Thursday’s quarterfinal, seventh seed Iga Swiatek beat veteran Kaia Kanepi in an intense three-hour battle on Rod Laver Arena, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3. Estonia’s Kanepi was playing her seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal and now owns a heartbreaking 0-7 record in that segment. On a positive note, after starting the Australian Open ranked No.115, Kanepi is projected to move into the Top 65.
Both women’s singles semifinals are scheduled to be played in Thursday’s night session.
What happened with Collins’ New Balance sponsorship? What the heck is “Dynasty P”?
Jim, Danielle and New Balance have apparently ended their partnership. Danielle is without a clothing sponsor at the Australian Open, while that Dynasty logo is from “Dynasty Financial Partners”, a company she promotes.