MELBOURNE -- Iga Swiatek was taken to the limit by Danielle Collins, but the World No.1 came from a double-break down in the third set to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Australian Open. Swiatek trailed 4-1 in the final set before winning five consecutive games to cap off a stunning comeback.
"Oh my god, I was at the airport already," Swiatek said jokingly on the court.
"It wasn't easy. I felt like I had the momentum going and then she started playing suddenly two times faster and I had no idea how to react to that for a couple of games. But I came back, and I thought the only thing I could focus on was myself. I stopped caring how she's going to play, I just focused on myself."
The victory extended Swiatek's active win streak to 18 consecutive matches, the second longest win streak of her career. She is now the sixth player since 2000 to achieve multiple streaks of 18 WTA-level wins after Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Lindsay Davenport.
Match notes: In a rematch of the 2022 Australian Open semifinal, Collins proved once again that her aggressive return game could unsettle Swiatek. On the same court two years ago, Collins hit Swiatek off the court to win 6-4, 6-1 to advance to her first major final.
Though the 30-year-old has seen her ranking drop to No.62 since that run, Collins channeled her Top 10-level tennis to keep the result in the balance until the late stages of the match.
Collins entered the match off a three-set victory over Angelique Kerber in the first round. Though she lost her last three meetings against Swiatek, which all came last season, Collins executed her game plan to perfection on Thursday.
How the match was won: With the match commencing under open air, Collins broke serve to lead 3-1 before a poor service game gave Swiatek the break right back. After the roof was closed due to rain at 3-3, the duo exchanged holds until Swiatek dug in to save game points and break Collins with physical play from the baseline. She held serve to seal the 78-minute rain-interrupted set.
Swiatek continued her charge by breaking for a 1-0 lead in the second set. Collins responded with a surge. Behind her big returns flat strokes pulling Swiatek into the tramlines, Collins reeled off five consecutive games. She hit just three unforced errors during that stretch. Swiatek saved four set points to get one break back, and wiped out another to hold and close the gap to 5-3.
Serving for the set for a second time, Collins got herself over the line and snuffed out Swiatek's thoughts of a comeback. Swiatek struggled to land her returns and Collins held serve at love to take the match into a third set.
After the set break, Swiatek returned to the court with a black band below her left knee and Collins pounced. With Swiatek struggling to find the length on her forehand, Collins earned two break points at 1-1, 15-40 with a clean backhand return winner. She broke two points later with the exact same shot, a devastating return that put her in the lead. Collins raced to a 4-1 lead after breaking Swiatek for a second time in the set.
Turning point: With the match seemingly out of her grasp, Swiatek slowed things down and methodically began her march back. She broke at love after Collins double-faulted and then saved three break points to hold to 4-3. With Collins now leaking more baseline errors, Swiatek put herself back on serve with yet another break, before holding at love to lead 5-4.
Having seen her lead evaporate in the blink of an eye, Collins fell behind at 15-40 as she served to stay in the match. The American did well to save two match points, but a perfectly feathered backhand up the line by Swiatek on her third match point finally sealed the victory after 3 hours and 14 minutes.
"I wanted to fight until the end," Swiatek said. "I knew she played just perfectly but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level, so I wanted to be ready when more mistakes would come from the other side and I wanted to push then. I did that at the end and I'm really proud of myself. It wasn't easy."
Final stats: Swiatek finished the match with 36 winners to 35 unforced errors, though just nine of those errors came in the final set. Collins struck 28 winners to 37 unforced errors, but broke the Pole's serve six times.
Swiatek explains her Houdini act: "You're not going to lie to yourself obviously that you're losing 4-1. The only thing you can do is just try again. At that point, you kind of know that you may lose. You can actually relax a little bit more because you know that, Okay, probably I'm going to lose, so I don't care anymore. Then it's easier. Sometimes it works like that.
"But it doesn't change the fact that I just kept trying. I kind of accept that I'm not going to only have these motivational and positive thoughts. When I go and start the rally, well, I hope most of the time I have the same kind of intensity.."
Up next: Swiatek will face the Czech Republic's Linda Noskova in the third round. The 19-year-old advanced to her first third-round at a Slam by defeating McCartney Kessler 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
I'm not gonna lie with the scoreline of 2-4 40 love my finger was on my tv remote's power button and I considered turning the match off, I didn't want to see yet another loss to Danielle Collins at Australian Open (this time at the earliest stage in a Slam).
But tennis is sort of like a car wreck where you often can't look away until the last ball is struck so I kept watching. And boy am I ever glad I did!.
The way Iga turned this match around was something else (yes many would say that Danielle's level finally dropped) which allowed Iga back in, and maybe it did a little but Iga could have very well made some unforced errors giving the match to Collins. And she didn't at 2-4 40 she knuckled down and took it.
Something I've only seen from Iga once before at last year's Roland Garros.
To say my blood pressure was through the roof during this match would be an understatement. My heart was in my throat for the entirety of that final set (especially when Iga squandered 2 match points one with a bad overhead).
But somehow she found a way to survive. In her post match interview she said that her mind was already at the airport which basically allowed her to play more freely without care maybe that's what did it.
I like to think it's all the mental work she has been doing the last several years. Iga from 2 years ago would have lost this match.
Who knows maybe coming so close to defeat will help her relax a little and allow her to play even better. Although next she'll be playing a night match for the first time in the tournament so that means more adjustments.
I'm hoping the slower night conditions might actually be beneficial against another big hitter in Noskova. It only gets harder from here with possibly Svitolina in the 4th round and of course the possibility of Ostapenko in the quarters (I'm hoping Vika Azarenka might have other ideas though).
Her biggest threat Rybakina in the semis is out of course, so if she could somehow navigate the next few rounds we could finally reach new ground at this tournament. But for now we'll take it one match at a time.
Jadza Iga!.
And on a side note I just have to say as someone who has been watching this sport since I was a teenager and I can honestly say what I witnessed on Day 5 of this tournament was otherworldly.
There were close 5 setters everywhere you looked, players in jeopardy and a historic tiebreak that lasted 34 minutes with a score of 22-20.
It was basically a tennis fan's dream that will be hard to replicate no matter what happens in week 2.
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