‘Puig bageled by Collins on the comeback’ Danielle Collins stomps her authority to advance into the second round at Madrid

‘Puig bageled by Collins on the comeback’ Danielle Collins stomps her authority to advance into the second round at Madrid

Danielle Collins, Monica Puig

Danielle Collins, the current world number 8 and the runner-up in the 2022 Australian Open, opted out of the Charleston Open due to neck injury she suffered in the quarterfinals of Miami Open. She came back from the injury to face another player who returned from an even longer hiatus.

Monica Puig, the 2016 Olympics gold medallist had been sidelined for more than a year and a half, after two surgeries on her shoulder and bicep tendon. She returned to Madrid having had very little practice after recuperating from the surgeries. Collins eased past Puig 7-5, 6-0 to move to the second round of the tournament.

Danielle Collins writing a comeback story of her own

Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins

Danielle Collins is playing really well this year coming back from injuries to become the runner-up at the Australian Open. She is hoping for a good show on the clay after another return. She was quite appreciative of Piug who played at a really high level to stretch Collins in the first set. But she ran out of steam in the second set as Collins eased past her.

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According to WTA, Collins said: “You never know what to expect when someone’s been out for a while, and they’ve been working on some things,” she said. “You don’t know what type of game style that they’re going to play, so it was a little bit tricky trying to anticipate what she was going to do.”

“I think she played at a super-high level, especially in the first set, and gave me a lot of challenges, so I really needed to just find my rhythm on the court.”

“When you go a little period where you aren’t playing some matches, you almost feel a little bit rusty,” she said. “I just needed to be patient and try to get myself back into it.

It is a mysterious affair as per the performance of a player returning from a long break but Collins handled the challenge well. She would now hope that she has recovered well enough to put on a good show in Madrid before heading deeper into the clay season, for the upcoming French Open. Her next opponent in the second round will be Bianca Andreescu, the former US Open winner. A mouthwatering contest between two heavyweights.

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