Field Level Media
12 May 2022, 04:25 GMT+10
Danielle Collins knocked off former World No. 1 Simona Halep, while Petra Martic and Jil Teichmann notched big upsets and top-seeded Iga Swiatek stretched her winning streak to 24 matches on Wednesday during second-round play at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia at Rome.
The seventh-seeded Collinscontinued her strong season with 38 winners during a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Halep.
Collins won 11 of the final 12 points of an 82-minute first set and then won the first four games of the second set en route to the win. The Australian Open finalist saved 9 of 13 break points while advancing to the Round of 16 in Rome for the first time.
"Simona is someone that I've looked up to for a long time, somebody that I really admire as a competitor, and as an athlete," Collins said after the triumph. "I felt like today kind of worked in my favor because I know her game so well from watching a lot.
"I had to come out and play really aggressive and be consistent at the same time, because she's relentless, she gets everything back. I just had to be really patient. There were times I was a little up and down with my serving, so I kind of made some adjustments, and just tried to be not too hard on myself."
Halep, who won the Rome title in 2020, had just 12 winners and saved only 3 of 9 break points.
Collins will next face fellow American Amanda Anisimova, who knocked off 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Martic, a qualifier from Croatia, is in the Round of 16 for the second straight year after posting a 6-2, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. Martic won 68.5 percent of her first-serve points compared to Kontaveit's 55.6.
Teichmann advanced with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over sixth-seeded Czech Karolina Pliskova. Teichmann had some help from Pliskova, who committed 12 double faults.
Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva also scored a solid upset, rallying for a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
Meanwhile, Swiatek continued her torrid play with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse in just 68 minutes. Swiatek, the defending champion, had a 15-3 edge in winners.
"I'm pretty proud I could get into the rhythm today, just take some lessons during the match and improve my game, game by game," Swiatek said after the victory. "That was pretty solid match for me."
Swiatek will next face 16th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka defeated Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4.
Second-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain moved on with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus. Third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus registered a 6-2, 6-0 win over Shuai Zhang of China, while fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece beat Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2.
Among other matches featuring seeded players, No. 9 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia beat Australia's Alja Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-2 while 13th-seeded American Jessica Pegula won in a walkover against Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina.
No. 15 seeded Coco Gauff rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 in over fellow American Madison Brengle.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationBEIJING, China: A typhoon altered its course and struck Hainan Island, southern China, late on the night of June 13. Typhoon Wutip...
BANFF, Alberta: The recent G7 summit has convened for the second and final day in the picturesque Canadian Rockies amidst escalating...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: A key global plan to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is now in deeper jeopardy after the United...
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is leaving the G7 summit after just one day, and after refusing...
HOUSTON, Texas: Crude oil surged to multi-month highs this week, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched...
SEOUL/LONDON: A wave of flight cancellations and diversions swept across the airline industry on June 13 after Israel launched strikes...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Cork's northside and Dublin's north inner city have been ranked as the dirtiest areas in Ireland, according to the...
ZURICH, Switzerland: In a breakthrough that could reshape the future of sustainable materials, scientists at Empa's Cellulose and Wood...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Paul Murphy, a member of the Irish parliament from the People Before Profit-Solidarity party, said he is one of several...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Investor confidence in U.S. markets is showing signs of strain as global funds redirect billions toward Europe...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary received a total pay package of 3.83 million euros for the financial year,...
GRAZ, Austria: Austria is reeling after a tragic school shooting in Graz that left ten people dead, including the gunman, and 12 others...