Danielle Collins has exited Wimbledon at the third round, dumped out of the tournament by none other than Iga Swiatek.
These two have shared a curious rivalry in recent years, with two vastly contrasting personalities that have unsurprisingly clashed at times.
As such, there is an obvious bitterness between the two whenever they meet on the court, and especially when it comes time to shake hands at the end of a match.
The American will likely have felt the sting of defeat more harshly than usual because of who her opponent was yesterday, and she essentially confirmed as much in her post-match press conference.
Danielle Collins confirms what her relationship with Iga Swiatek is like
Speaking to reporters at Wimbledon, the 31-year-old, who reneged on her retirement last year after a stunning run of form, admitted her frustration at losing in just the third round at Wimbledon.
Having breezed through the opening two rounds, she was powerless to stop a rampaging Iga Swiatek, who finally seems to have figured things out on the grass.
Asked to comment on her relationship with the Polish tennis player, Danielle Collins pulled no punches in her frank assessment.
She simply stated: ‘I don’t think we’re all destined to get along well with each other. Iga is a great player, I am her rival, and at the end of the day, we compete with each other. That’s it.
‘I just prefer to settle things directly with a given person. I don’t talk about people behind their backs, and if there is a problem, I settle it with the person.’
After the match, Swiatek revealed the tactic she used to beat Collins, which clearly proved effective.
Iga Swiatek dismantled Danielle Collins in Wimbledon third round
Realistically, yesterday marked Swiatek at her ruthless best, convincingly defeating Collins with minimal fuss.
The 6-2, 6-3 scoreline perfectly sums up the efficiency of the 24-year-old, who will now face Clara Tauson in the fourth round.
She faced just three break points all match, none of which were converted, yet brought about ten on the Collins serve.
It took just four to condemn the 2022 Australian Open finalist, who was kept quiet all afternoon – a rarity for such a vocal player.
Collins’ comments will only add fuel to a growing rivalry that is showing no signs of letting up.
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