Resurgent Collins ready to test himself against Swiatek in Montreal

MONTREAL, CANADA — Most players log into competitive mode as soon as they arrive in a tournament. It calls attention to training, recovery and match play.

Danielle Collins is not the majority of players.

After winning three straight sets in qualifying to earn her main draw spot at the Omnium Nationale Banque, Collins and her new coach Jared Jacobs timed out. Barbie.

“I love it,” Collins said. “I’m not a big movie critic. But I just think the characters and storyline are great. and everything that Barbie has to offer. I just think it’s great.”

“Growing up playing with Barbie dolls. I can relate to that weird Barbie doll. That’s my doll.”

Montreal: Score | Draw | Order of Play

Collins came into Montreal in 48th place and was awaiting the race. Her qualifying campaign ended in favor. With wins over Eugenie Bouchard and Emina Bektas under her belt. She raced through the main draw to advance to the WTA 1000 quarterfinals for the first time since 2022 in Miami. She defeated Elina Svitolina, Maria Sakkari and Leylah Fernandez without losing a set.

“Throughout my career I traveled alone without a coach. And I had little success doing that,” Collins said. “But I think it’s great to have Jared as part of the team and be there for me. and help me improve my game and develop my mind

“I feel that everything he brings to the table and holds me accountable has helped me get better results on the court.”

Collins credits Jacobs for his tactical acumen and uncompromising understanding of data and analysis. She trusts his game plan and admires his willingness to make things go smoothly.

“I feel that we both love tennis very much. But we also love to do other things,” Collins says. “We love bowling. We like to go see Barbie movies.” Pedicure We go get our nails done sometimes.

“We have had many great adventures. We check things out in the city, it’s a really good balance and when we’re on the court. It was very meditative.”

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Collins will have less than 24 hours to prepare for the challenge of facing No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. The two split two completed matches. Collins won their biggest meeting yet, beating Swiatek in straight sets in the 2020 Australian Open semi-finals. Swiatek got revenge earlier this year with a straight win in Doha.

Swiatek and Collins may have differences in personalities. But they have one important thing in common. That’s their tennis racket. Earlier this year, Collins switched from Babolat to Technifibre after trying out a chance.

Collins said “I actually tried the racket off the shelf, I just attended a tournament and played with it. And it was great,” Collins said. “I immediately clicked with the racket.

“They are very helpful. Yesterday I had a slight hiccup and ran out of ligaments. Today I didn’t have enough strings for my racket and the Tecnifbre team did it. They made sure the strings were there. at the end of the night so the string players can strum my racket.”

The relaxed, happy and confident Collins proved dangerous. If she can handle her upset over Swiatek, she will reach her first WTA 1000 semi-final since 2018 and her biggest semi-final since reaching her third Australian Open final. last year

It was a daunting task, but Collins was keen to keep doing it. And she’s confident knowing her first game is a tennis genre that can push the polls.

“I’ve played Iga twice now,” Collins said. “The first time is better than the second. So thumbs up I brought my A-game and put on a good show for everyone.

“It’s been a great week. And I have a lot of competitions, so yes, I hope to keep going.”