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After a thrilling run, St. Pete’s Collins falls in Australian Open final

Mark Parker

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St. Petersburg's Danielle Collins made it from a 27th seed to the Australian Open final, ultimately losing to the world's top ranked player. Photo: Wiki Commons.

An exhilarating march from a 27th seed to facing the world’s best in the Australian Open final came to a disappointing finish for St. Petersburg’s Danielle Collins, as Ashleigh Barty outlasted the underdog to take the title.

Barty, playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, defeated Collins 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). In taking the Grand Slam early Saturday morning – the match began at 3:30 a.m. for Collins’ St. Pete supporters – Barty became the first home Australian Open winner in 44 years. Barty, the world’s No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player, now has three grand slam titles under her belt after winning the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021.

Barty dominated her competition throughout the tournament, defeating three straight Americans and not dropping a single set before her match with Collins. A notoriously fierce competitor, Collins made Barty earn the Australian Open title.

“Big congratulation to Ash,” said Collins from the court after the match. “I really admire you as a player.”

Collins even reaching her first final is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in tennis. Collins, 28, began treatment for rheumatoid arthritis following a 2019 run to the Australian Open semifinals. In April of last year, she underwent emergency surgery for Endometriosis, a painful condition where the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of the womb.

“Today, my body wasn’t always agreeing with me,” said Collins. “I was in a little bit of a fight with my body – which is to be expected when you go this far in a tournament.”

Collins was born in St. Pete and graduated from Northeast High School in 2012. Ranked 30th in the world, she was essentially playing with house money in the final. Neither Collins nor the world’s No. 1 showed any signs of nerves in the opening stages. Both exchanged powerful shots early on, with Collins’ trademark backhand frustrating Barty from the onset.

Barty would respond with a 181 km/h ace that rocketed past the American and sent the partisan Aussie crowd into a frenzy.

Loose groundstrokes plagued Collins’ third service game, and a wild double fault handed Barty a break of serve. Barty ripped off two additional holds of serve to quickly claim the opening set.

“The most important part of this tournament is to be able to share it with you,” Barty told the crowd at Rod Laver Arena after the match. “This crowd is one of the most fun I’ve ever played in front of.”

Collins, well-known for her intensity and wearing her emotions on her sleeve, was not about to go quietly into the Melbourne night, however.

The decisive underdog held the second set and got a break. She broke Barty – just the second break for the Aussie in the entire tournament – to take a 2-0 lead. The American survived a few break points in the next game, including one on a cross-court winner, to increase her lead to 3-0.

Collins broke Barty yet again, and the underdog’s lead stood at 5-1. It then appeared as if Collins would force a decider, and the crowd noise vanished into the Australian outback.

Barty refused to yield and clawed her way back, scoring five unanswered points. The partisan crowd was now back at full throat, to the point the umpire warned the spectators about their conduct. The ensuing tiebreaker was the first of the tournament for either player, and Barty clearly had the momentum behind her while Collins appeared flustered.

The tiebreaker was all Barty.

The world No. 1 took a mini-break for the first point, and Collins hit a backhand long to hand Barty a 2-0 lead. A forehand winner, followed by an overhead smash, quickly increased Barty’s lead to 4-0. Collins then got on the board to make it 4-1, but her backhand into the net ended any hope for a rally.

Barty would close out the tie break 7-2, and the crowd at Rod Laver celebrated the first Australian woman to win the country’s most celebrated tennis title since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

“This is a dream come true,” said Barty. “I am so proud to be an Aussie.”

Collins has reason to celebrate, too. No one expected the 30th ranked native of St. Pete to battle through the field before giving a dominant Barty all she could handle. Barty has held the world’s No. 1 ranking for over 100 weeks and looks as though she will continue to pace the women’s field for a lot longer.

Collins can now put Grand Slam finalist on her resume and will likely break into the top 10 when updated rankings are released next week. She also earned over $1.1 million.

“Not the result I wanted, obviously, but I gave it my best effort,” Collins told reporters after the match. “I was pushed to the max, and I gave myself a chance at the end.”

 

 

 

 

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Avatar

    RITA SEWELL

    January 30, 2022at7:28 am

    Danielle did not fail. She fought the good fight and she did very well. The notion that people who do not win are failures is a sickness in our society. Everyone who endeavors to do well and especially those who reach a pinnacle such as the one Danielle reached will never be failures. This win/loose mentality is poisonous.

    • Joe Hamilton

      Joe Hamilton

      January 30, 2022at8:01 am

      Hi Rita,

      Thanks for taking the time to comment. We hear you.

      To be precise, the word in the article was fall, not fail. Fall is a synonym for lose and we use it, and other synonyms, so we’re not repetitive in our writing.

      We could not be more proud of Danielle.

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