Virginia’s Collins loses Aussie championship, but wins the day

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Danielle Collins will wake up Sunday morning with a smile on her face.

Yeah, she may have lost in the finals of Saturday’s Australian Open, her first — but not last — Grand Slam finals appearance, but her meteoric rise over the past two weeks in Melbourne are life-changing. Collins not only pocketed $1.1 million as runner-up, but also rose to a top-10 world ranking and the No. 1 ranking in American women’s tennis.

She lost the first set to top-seeded Ash Barty in a mere 32 minutes, but fought back with the fiery style she is known for and bolted to a 5-1 lead in the second set before Barty came back and forced a tie-break for a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory.

“Right now, I’m disappointed,” said Collins, who won back-to-back NCAA singles titles at Virginia. “But I think we’re going to have some time to celebrate everything that I accomplished this week with the people here supporting me. It’s a great moment for me, regardless of the outcome today.”

The 28-year-old from Florida, who has been a great comeback story after battling crippling pain last year, almost pulled off the upset in the year’s first major.

“It’s not easy going out and playing someone pretty much on their home court in the finals of a major,” Collins said in a press conference after the match. “But this is what you live for in sports, right?

“These are incredible moments that you don’t get to experience very often. And it was a real honor to be out there. I tried to embrace every moment. I tried to get the crowd fired up. I tried to get myself into it.”

Collins made the crowd a little nervous during that second set, after breaking Barty’s serve for the 5-1 lead. Barty won 82 percent of her points on her first serve. She hit 30 winners compared to Collins’ 17.

Collins, who used a UVA tennis towel during the match, did not sit during the match in an attempt to prevent back spasms. She had been bothered by her back after playing consecutive singles/doubles matches earlier in the tournament.

“I’m learning a lot of things along the way,” Collins said. “And Ash certainly taught me a lot of things today on court.”

For Barty, she ended a 44-year drought between Australian women’s champions in the event. She has three Grand Slam championships to her credit now, the Australian, the French Open and Wimbledon.