Danielle Collins survives a three-hour marathon first round against Anna Kalinskaya at Australian Open 2023.
Not an easy first round for the last year's runner-up Danielle Collins against Anna Kalinskaya
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Danielle Collins
The 2022 AO runner-up, Danielle Collins, survives a 3-hour marathon first round against Anna Kalinskaya and goes into the second round. The world No. 14 had a thriller-filled first round with so much drama on the court. She won against Anna in three sets (7-5, 5-7, 6-4). It is the best match so far on Day 1 of the Australian Open.
In the first set, Collins broke the serve of Kalinskaya in the final game, winning the set 7-5. However, Kalinskaya didn’t make things easy for the 2022 runner-up, as she won the second set, which lasted for 70 minutes. Finally, in the third set, Collins was dominant enough to break Anna’s serve in the 10th game itself and win the match.
It was an exciting match for the fans, with Collins being animated throughout the match. Both players took a physio break in between due to the high intensity of the match. Kalinskaya fought well, with a lot of long rallies and running all around the court. There were times when Kalinskaya was seen complaining to the umpire, and fans also witnessed Collins smashing her racquet.
The fans witnessing a 34-game marathon in the first round itself of the Australian Open is something unexpected by anyone. Kudos to Kalinskaya for fighting hard and making it not easy for the American. She had a better net game and first serve than the 2022 Australian Open runner-up.
Related: Coco Gauff is “thankful” for starting the 2023 Australian Open campaign at Rod Laver arena
Danielle Collins faces Karolina Muchova in the next round
Danielle Collins‘ next match is on Wednesday against none other than the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova. The fact that she fought hard despite her knee trouble in the first set against Kalinskaya gives her a lot of confidence. Although she did not start the major the way she wanted to, she will be thrilled to bag it. Speaking in the post-match interview, she said she had these kinds of games recently and lost. Hence, Collins feels good about winning it here this time.
Karolina, on the other hand, had a dominating first round that lasted for 78 minutes. She won 6-2, 6-1 against the Ukrainian, Lesia Tsurenko, in straight sets. Collins, on the other hand, would prefer that her knee be fully recovered before the next round. She has the experience of winning big matches against the odds, as fans witnessed her victory over Naomi Osaka last year in the U.S. Open.
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Santhosh Tenneti
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