Danielle Collins defeats Alexandrova to book a spot in the finals against Rybakina at the Miami Open

In her last year on the WTA Tour before retiring, Danielle Collins defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to secure her first-ever 1000 series final in Miami.

In the Saturday final, thirty-year-old Collins will take against Elena Rybakina, ranked fourth. The Kazakhstani woman prevailed 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7/2) after being pushed all the way by the seasoned Victoria Azarenka.

Collins, who declared her desire to retire at the conclusion of the current season, refuted this week the notion that her incredible run to the last four was the consequence of her playing freely.

However, the American seemed at ease and in command once again as she dictated the match against Alexandrova of Russia. Alexandrova had defeated world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the fourth round before defeating American fifth seed Jessica Pegula.

The fact that Collins is from St. Petersburg, close to Tampa, makes it much more unique.

She said, “I’ve had a few good years here, but this is definitely the most memorable.”

In the first set, Alexandrova broke early, but Collins quickly put the match back on service and broke once more to lead 4–2 and win the set.

After breaking on Alexandrova’s first serve game in the second set, the American easily won the set in 74 minutes.

We play extremely similar games, so it was entertaining to watch all of her matches this weekend. When it is that way, it is tough, Collins added.

She remarked, “It really forced me to play up at my highest level and forced me to concentrate harder and react faster.”

After falling to Czech Petra Kvitova in the Miami final in 2023, Rybakina, now 24 years old, is back for a second consecutive year.

Given her current record and the fact that none of the top three seeds are competing, it seems like she will easily defeat Collins.

Rybakina has already won championships this year in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, where she competed in her first WTA 1000 final.

In the first set, her service seemed to be too strong for Azarenka, but it drastically deteriorated in the second set before breaking to take a 3-2 lead in the third.

– Just taking a chance

The 34-year-old Azarenka, a three-time Miami champion, persevered however, breaking back to even the score at 5-5 and preserving her chances of making an unexpected run to the championship match.

However, Rybakina rediscovered her serve spectacularly in the tie-break, leaving Azarenka defenseless against a formidable ace to take a 3-0 lead.

From then on, the result was always obvious, although Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner, said she had experienced physical difficulties in the second set. Rybakina was forced to withdraw from her Indian Wells title defense this month due to sickness.

There was a period of time when I remained on the court longer than I should have, considering the difficult and humid circumstances. The energy level also dropped, and Vika returned with great aggression.

“I knew there would be a third set and I was just trying to prepare for it after three games when I lost so easily,” the woman said.

For the tie-break, Rybakina claimed to have been able to enter the zone.

“I kind of turned off my brain for the tie-break and just went for it,” the woman said.