PARIS (Reuters) – Unseeded Danielle Collins battled past Tunisian Ons Jabeur 6-4 4-6 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the French Open quarter-finals for the first time in her career.
World number 57 Collins raised her level after the opening nine games of the first set went with serve, when the American broke to edge ahead in the contest as Jabeur made an unforced error from the back of the court.
The big-hitting 26-year-old then raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set, showing the craftiness more commonly associated with her opponent to pull off a superb drop shot in the second game as Jabeur appeared to wilt on Court Philippe Chatrier.
But the Tunisian, who became the first Arab woman to reach the Roland Garros last 16 by beating eighth seed Aryna Sabalenka, regained focus to win the next five games in a row before dragging the match into a deciding set.
In complete contrast to the opener, both players traded breaks freely at the start of the decider before Collins came back from 0-40 to hold for 3-2 and staved off a late comeback attempt to seal the win.
She will face Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin next, after the fourth-seeded American recovered from a wobbly start to beat Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro 2-6 6-2 6-1 in their last 16 encounter on Monday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
