Danielle Collins joined fellow American Madison Keys in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Collins tipped the game in her favor with a key break of serve in the final game of the first set to beat Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old American matched her previous best performance at Melbourne Park – advancing to the semi-finals here in 2019, still her best result at a Grand Slam tournament.
Collins underwent surgery last year to treat endometriosis. The problem caused him intense pain during the 2021 tournaments.
“I feel amazing right now, especially after some of the health issues I’ve been dealing with,” Collins said in his post-game interview. “To be able to come back to that level and compete like I did, to be so good physically is like a reward.”
Keys will play Thursday in the other semi-final, against local world-ranked Ash Barty.
The loss ended a fine tournament for Cornet, who made his first major quarter-final appearance in his 63rd main draw appearance.
In the fourth round, the Frenchwoman won a surprise victory over Simona Halep, double monarch of major events. The WTA has announced that Cornet should return to the top 50 in the world after his performance in Australia.
Collins will meet the winner of the next quarter-final match at Rod Laver Arena, between former French Open champion Iga Swiatek and Kaia Kanepi.
On the night, Daniil Medvedev (seeded 2) faced one of the biggest challenges in his bid to win a second consecutive Grand Slam title. He will face Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, 21.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th) takes on Jannik Sinner in the other men’s quarter-final match.
The winners will meet on Friday in the semi-finals. Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini have already booked their places in the other, which will take place on the same day.
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