30th-Ranked American Danielle Collins Reaches Australian Open Final Like It's No Big Deal
American Danielle Collins reached her first Grand Slam tennis final at age 28 on Thursday ― and played it cool.
The 30th-ranked Collins’ 6-4, 6-1 demolition of No. 9 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the Australian Open may very well be the highlight of her previously unsung career. But she appeared nonchalant immediately afterward.
The fairytale run continues for Danielle Collins ✨
The American delivers an emphatic 6-4 6-1 victory to upset 7th seed Iga Swiatek and advance to her maiden Grand Slam final.
🎥: @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis#AusOpen • #AO2022pic.twitter.com/NTeCwykXlE— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2022
Collins, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2019, exhaled a bit in an on-court interview afterward, saying she couldn’t be happier and reminisced about early morning practices with her father.
Danielle Collins, how does it feel to be a Grand Slam finalist? 🤩
"It feels amazing." #AusOpen • #AO2022 • #AOinterviewpic.twitter.com/CWzMRcENHd— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2022
In a press conference later, she said her favorite matches to watch as a youth involved Serena and Venus Williams. “To be playing on this stage where so many of my idols as a kid [were] playing, it’s almost surreal,” she said.
"It's almost surreal"
We're all just kids who were once watching Venus and Serena 😁 🇺🇸#AusOpen • #AO2022• #AOpressconpic.twitter.com/gfaUGENQf4— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2022
Collins will face top-ranked home-country favorite Ash Barty in the championship.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.