Danielle Rose Collins came back from being down by one set before bagging her 15th straight win when in action at the 2024 Madrid Open.
The American tennis player played extra hard to beat Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the third round of the Madrid Open.
After winning titles in Miami and Charleston earlier this month, the American advanced to the last 16 in Madrid for the first time in his career.
“I’ve played so well in the last few weeks, I think the boys know that when they get on the court and play against me, they’re going to fight hard to beat me,” said Rose Collins.
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“That definitely showed in the last two games, some tough shots to deal with, and being able to react quickly.”
“In the end, I had to serve and return really well in that match to try to finish it. It is expected that when you bag that many wins that they will raise their level of play. They have to do it, so I’m ready to face it.”
The 13th seed dropped just one set en route to winning titles in Miami and Charleston, but he will need to show his best in the first week of the Madrid Open. In the opening match of the tournament, she also dropped the first set against Olga Danilovic before winning the match with 10/8 in the third set tiebreak.
In the third round, only one break point opportunity separated the two players in the first two sets. Cristian capitalized on a break point opportunity early in the first set to build a 4-2 lead, but the American came back and broke the Romanian in the final game of the second set before forcing a decider.
Fighting hard for a breath of fresh air, the 13th seed dominated the third set and finished the match with an eighth ace after 2 hours and 1 minute.
Rose Collins will next meet defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round. The world No. 2s have won all four of their previous meetings, but the meeting in Madrid will be their first away from hard court.
The 2024 Australian Open champion, Sabalenka also had to face a challenging match before knocking out Rose Collins’ 19 year old compatriot, Robin Montgomery and winning 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 in 2 hours 29 minutes.
The 2021 Madrid Open champion, Sabalenka is now aiming to become the second female tennis player to win the title in Madrid three times, after Petra Kvitova won it in the 2011, 2015 and 2018 seasons.
