On Tuesday, Danielle Collins will walk out onto the famous Wimbledon courts for what may be the last time. In truth, it hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the former Australian Open runner-up. Nonetheless, it’ll be an emotional occasion as her imminent retirement looms. In a likely evening clash, she faces Danish world No. 67 Clara Tauson on court three. It’s a match-up that brings about good memories for the American as she has already faced Tauson twice, beating her on both occasions.
Collins’ Draw
In all honesty, the draw has played out relatively well for Collins. Should she navigate to the third round, where she will likely face world No. 32, Beatriz-Haddad Maia. That would be an opponent who has been in the second round of Wimbledon just one time in her career.
Marketa Vondrousova could be next in line in the last 16. At first glance, a meeting with last year’s champion sounds like a nightmare draw. However, the Czech’s inconsistency at the best of times means that she is much less reliable than her No. 6 seed may imply.
Similarly, facing Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinal may not be exactly what one would wish for. However, the world No. 1 has yet to show any relative form on grass her whole career. While she is head and shoulders the best on the clay courts and on a par with Sabalenka on the hard courts, in terms of grass, she barely merits a place in the top ten. If we ever switch to surface-based seedings in tennis, Swiatek might struggle to find herself seeded based on previous performances. Of course, it could be argued that a drastic change of circumstances may force her to develop her game in a way she doesn’t need to currently. The point stands: Collins would much rather Swiatek at Wimbledon than some of the other big guns.
A career-best season so far
As much as Collins hardly falls into the bracket of what would be regarded as a grass-court specialist, she can take a lot of heart from what has been an incredible season so far. Such form sees her sit No. 6 in the live WTA Finals Race. The signs have been positive since the start of the season when, despite the results not coming, she was extremely competitive with the creme de la creme of the sport. The American took Iga Swiatek to a third set at the Australian Open and did the same to Elena Rybakina in Abu Dhabi.
It was Miami when the breakthrough came as she truly locked in. After losing the opening set to Bernarda Pera, she decided that would be a one-time occurrence. Winning every set from then on in, she bulldozed the competition that stood in her way. Collins picked up her maiden singles title in Miami. She didn’t stop there, though.
Instead, she continued her form with a 15-match winning streak that saw her win the WTA 500 event in Charleston. She eventually lost to Sabalenka in a thriller in Madrid, and this feat repeated in Rome.
Since then, her form has somewhat dropped; however, she remains a woman with supreme confidence.
The grass court season
Yet we mustn’t forget that she hasn’t played a single match in preparation on the grass courts. This is quite a common theme on both tours, as Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud chose to do the same.
The lack of priority she places is a shame. With such a wonderful backhand that naturally suits grass, she could have been much more successful down the years. Even last season against Belinda Bencic, where she lost in a thrilling match tie-break, those skills were on display.
The future
In the future, the Olympics in Paris wait for her as well as a final US Open. You could forgive her for prioritizing those tournaments in her final year. She is so comfortable on the clay and representing her home country that you can’t help but feel she is a serious contender. Likewise, with her solid hard-court form this season, including the earlier mentioned Miami title, there is no reason she couldn’t get a fairy-tale send-off with a run deep into the second week.
As far as this fortnight is concerned, she probably operates as somewhat of a dark horse at the All England Club. Far from a major contender, but one who only a fool would write off.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
