Danielle Collins is looking to enjoy another strong performance in Rome, having reached the semi-finals in 2024.
The 31-year-old began her Italian Open campaign with a big win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse, advancing to the third round in straight sets.
There, she came face to face with one of her biggest WTA Tour rivals, Iga Swiatek, against whom she had lost her previous six matches.
Snapping her losing streak, Collins stunned Swiatek, 6-1, 7-5, making her way through to the last 16 in Rome.
During her post-match press conference, Collins named a former Grand Slam finalist that she took inspiration from when struggling with her serve during her win over the Pole.
Danielle Collins says she thought about Elena Dementieva during win over Iga Swiatek in Rome
Collins and Swiatek struggled with their serves throughout the match, as the world number 35 now has her say on what happened.
“Sometimes you need a warm-up before the real serve, right? I don’t know. I think about that sometimes, too. I really am not sure,” said Collins.
“I think sometimes I’m, like, missing some of the serves so close. Sometimes, maybe just going for a little bit too much on the target, trying to really get it in one spot, but it’s like too close to the line, and that’s why I end up missing it by a little bit.
“The same sometimes, missing it, where it just clips the net. I felt like Iga [Swiatek] was doing that today on her serve, as well. It was contagious. I couldn’t figure out why both of us were not making a lot of first serves.
“We were both hitting pretty hard, effective second serves, so I think that pays off.”
| Player | Aces | Double faults | First serve % | Win % on first serve | Win % on second serve |
| Danielle Collins | 6 | 6 | 48% | 74% | 61% |
| Iga Swiatek | 1 | 3 | 57% | 61% | 25% |
Hitting just 48% of her first serves during her win over Swiatek, Collins took inspiration from a WTA legend who herself struggled at times with her serve.
“Growing up, I watched a lot of Elena Dementieva,” she said.
“Elena Dementieva made a career for herself not making many first serves. That was a really tough shot for her.
“She had so many other special parts of her game that made her the player she was. She was athletic.
“Sometimes when I have a bad serving day, I think about Elena Dementieva and all of the things she was able to achieve even when the serve or first serve wasn’t working well for her.
“It just shows you can have one area of your game not be effective one day, but if you have other skills and talent, you can apply that and really achieve some great things. She’s inspiring to me at times.
“I loved her. She was one of my favorite players to watch.”
Elena Dementieva’s career achievements
Collins took inspiration from Dementieva to secure one of the biggest wins of her career, but just how good was the Russian star?
Dementieva competed on the WTA Tour for over a decade and was a consistent fixture at the top of the women’s game, finishing as a year-end top ten player on seven occasions.
She won 16 titles in total, three of which came at the WTA 1000 level, beating some of the sport’s greatest-ever players in the process.
- 2006 Pan-Pacific Open F – Elena Dementieva beat Martina Hingis, 6-2, 6-0
- 2007 Kremlin Cup F – Elena Dementieva beat Serena Williams, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
- 2009 Canadian Open F – Elena Dementieva beat Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-3
Her greatest victory came in Beijing, 17 years ago, when she took down Dinara Safina in the Olympic final to win the Gold medal.
The 43-year-old also reached two Grand Slam finals during her career, coming up short against her fellow Russians at the 2004 French Open and US Open tournaments.
- 2004 French Open F – Elena Dementieva lost to Anastasia Myskina, 1-6, 2-6
- 2004 US Open F – Elena Dementieva lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, 3-6, 5-7
Looking to reach her third Major final five years later, Dementieva played her part in one of Wimbledon’s most legendary matches.
Dementieva and Serena Williams played out an instant classic on Centre Court, thrilling those in attendance.
The Russian was a point away from the final, at 1-1, 5-4, 40-30, but failed to capitalize on a second serve from Williams.
Williams eventually came through to win 6-7, 7-5, 8-6, after two hours and 49 minutes of gruelling grass court action.
Dementieva never returned to Wimbledon after 2009, retiring from tennis in 2010 as one of the greatest Russian tennis players of all time.
The former world number three’s legacy clearly lives on to this day, and it will be interesting to see if Collins can continue to perform in Rome with Dementieva in her thoughts.
Collins will return to take on Elina Svitolina in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Monday, May 12
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