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Kvitova swats aside Collins to reach first Australian Open final

Kvitova

Melbourne (Australia), Jan. 24, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Petra Kvitova will compete in her first Australian Open after ending the fairytale run of unseeded American Danielle Collins with a decisive 7-6(2) 6-0 victory on a scorching afternoon at Melbourne Park on Thursday.

The eighth seeded Czech will meet the winner of U.S. Open, Naomi Osaka, and seventh seeded compatriot, Karolina Pliskova, as she bids for her first Grand Slam triumph since claiming the second of her Wimbledon titles in 2014.

The match at Rod Laver Arena was riven with tension, with a delay to close the roof during the first set due to the stifling conditions and a malfunction of the net cord sensor.

The hitches at the start of the second set left server Collins fuming.

Kvitova capitalised on the American’s distraction to break her three times in succession on the way to an emphatic victory.

It also made her the first Czech woman to reach the Melbourne final since Jana Novotna lost the 1991 decider to Monica Seles.

“It means everything. I really worked very hard; finally I made it deep in this tournament,” Kvitova said in her on-court interview.

“I am going to enjoy the final whatever happens. I am very, very happy.

“The first set was very tight. I was very nervous. I am glad I came through the tiebreak.”

Collins was angered when the net cord technology failed at 15-30 when she was on serve during the opening game of the second set.

Having won the point, she was made to replay it and remonstrated with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

The technology gave up another phantom beep on Collins’s replayed serve and Ramos told both players there had been a malfunction.

Re-starting with a second serve, Collins gave up a backhand unforced error to concede two break points.

She saved one with a big backhand winner but netted on the second.

From there, things quickly went downhill for the American as the Czech ramped up her power game and roared to 5-0.

Collins conceded another unforced error on her forehand to give Kvitova match point, and the Czech fired her 30th winner to claim a clinical win. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA

Sport

Unseeded American Collins hammers Kerber to reach Australian Open quarters

Collins

Melbourne (Australia), Jan. 20, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Unseeded American Danielle Collins took less than an hour to thrash 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 6-0 6-2 and power her way into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The unheralded 25-year-old had not won a match in her previous Grand Slam appearances.

However, after smashing 29 winners against triple Grand Slam champion Kerber she has now made it to the last eight in her first main draw showing at Melbourne Park.

“I may not have won a Grand Slam match before this (but) I got to tell you I think it’s going to keep happening,” Collins said.

“When I was in college, my coaches told me to go out, go after it and believe in my shots.

“All kudos to my coaching squad over there in the corner, they gave me a plan and I just did the job.”

Ranked 35th in the world, Collins breezed through the opening set in 20 minutes with three service breaks, hitting winners on all sides of the court against the second seed.

After an early trade of breaks in the second set, Collins smashed a backhand to break Kerber’s serve and take a 4-2 lead.

She then broke the German once again to seal victory on her first match point in 56 minutes.

Wimbledon champion Kerber mumbled to herself constantly, unable to show any fight she threw down her racquet in frustration that brought a warning from the umpire.

“I go out fearless, I’ve been working hard my whole life, I just give it my all,” said Collins, after the match.

She will next play either fifth seed Sloane Stephens or Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who meet in the last match of the evening. (Reuters/NAN)

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