Danielle Collins insists she is not “a vengeful person” as she just wants to go out and give her best versus Aryna Sabalenka. On Saturday, Collins defeated Alize Cornet 6-4 7-6 (9) to set up a US Open last-16 meeting versus Sabalenka.
Going into the match, Sabalenka owns a 3-0 head-to-head versus Collins. In the US Open third round, Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka, against whom she previously had zero wins and three losses. But Collins insists she is not a type of person or player who is seeking revenge.
“I’m not really a vengeful person. I just kind of come out here and do my best. Love to compete. Any win is a bonus for me. Lucky to be here with a lot of the challenges I faced. I’m motivated from within. I just do the best that I can.
I work my tail off. I’ve got an incredible work ethic. I think that that comes out a lot in my performances,” Collins said.
Collins on beating Cornet
In the first set, Collins earned the first break in the fifth game and then held on to her serve the rest of the set to win the opener.
As not a single break point was seen in the second set, the set had to be resolved in a tie-break. There, Collins saved three set points before realizing her second match point to escape with a straight-set win. “She was getting some free points off her serve like I was.
It was kind of like she was holding, I was holding. Went to battle in the tiebreak. Luckily got a couple points on her serve. That gave me some confidence. Was able to close it out. It was really, really close, especially the second set all the way through.
But really the first set, too, was close in the same way,” Collins reflected. It remains to be seen if Collins can now get her first victory over Sabalenka.
