30th-Ranked American Danielle Collins Reaches Australian Open Final Like It's No Big Deal

Collins destroyed Iga Swiatek in straight sets and will face top-ranked home-country favorite Ash Barty in the championship.
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American Danielle Collins reached her first Grand Slam tennis final at age 28 on Thursday ― and played it cool.

The 30th-ranked Collins’ 6-4, 6-1 demolition of No. 9 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the Australian Open may very well be the highlight of her previously unsung career. But she appeared nonchalant immediately afterward.

Collins, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2019, exhaled a bit in an on-court interview afterward, saying she couldn’t be happier and reminisced about early morning practices with her father.

In a press conference later, she said her favorite matches to watch as a youth involved Serena and Venus Williams. “To be playing on this stage where so many of my idols as a kid [were] playing, it’s almost surreal,” she said.

Collins will face top-ranked home-country favorite Ash Barty in the championship.

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