Collins downs Garcia to set up Alexandrova semi-final

Former Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins opened up on the mental battles that tennis players face after beating Caroline Garcia in straight sets to reach the Miami Open semi-finals.

The American recorded a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over the 23rd seed without dropping serve.

It is the second time she has reached the last four of the event, having also got there in 2018.

The 30-year-old, who has announced she will retire from tennis at the end of the season, will face Ekaterina Alexandrova – who beat Jessica Pegula 3-6 6-4 6-4 – for a place in the final.

“She hit some really strong shots, and the games were really close,” Collins said in her on-court interview.

“I don’t think that the set scores are necessarily a reflection of how close the match really is. It’s been like that every time we play.

“One of the things that makes me pretty resilient mentally is having a lot of detachment and I’ve worked a lot on that.

“You have to in this sport. It’s such a roller coaster each week. You’re losing practically every week. You have weeks that you win, but usually you’re losing. It’s like that for most of the players, even a lot of the top players.

“That’s been something I’ve worked on my whole career, and I feel like I’ve got pretty good at stomaching those highs and lows. It’s just about having fun out here, enjoying it, taking it all in and not being so caught up in the day to day, as much as possible.”

Collins has slipped to No. 63 in the world rankings after an injury-hit couple of years, but put in a near faultless display against Garcia.

The first set was a tight encounter, with neither player able to force a single break point across the first six games.

However, Collins finally broke at the perfect time when Garcia failed to hold at 4-3, and her American opponent duly served it out in her next game.

The Frenchwoman required a medical timeout in the second set, when she received rigorous treatment to her right shoulder area.

She had already been broken by this point though, dropping her second service game as Collins raced into a 3-1 lead.

And although Garcia recovered sufficiently to continue, her opponent forced further break points in the seventh game, and she duly converted at the fourth attempt after cracking a backhand down the line.

That opened up a 5-2 advantage, and there was to be no comeback from there as the American held to love, whipping a cross-court forehand to seal victory with her 22nd winner of the match.

It will the first time Collins will play Alexandrova, who has embarked on a fairytale run to the latter stages of the Miami Open.

She backed up her victory against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek by coming from one set down to triumph against Pegula, the tournament’s fifth seed.

Pegula took the first set after winning 13 of her 14 first-serve points, but Alexandrova found her feet in the second set and forced the encounter to a decider.

The world No. 16 broke Pegula at a crucial point in the third set, taking a 5-4 lead. She converted her second match point to secure the victory and reach a WTA 1000 semi-final for the second time in her career.

“I think it’s going to be difficult,” Alexandrova said of facing Collins in the final four.

“There’s no easy match here and the further you go, the tougher the matches. I’m hoping it will be a good one.”