BY JAMES BECK
Danielle Collins will be difficult for any opponent to defeat in the Credit One Charleston Open.
Her 10-match winning streak and march though Miami before heading north to Charleston brings back memories of Mary Pierce nearly a quarter century ago.
This tournament was then known as the Family Circle Cup and it was located at Hilton Head Island.
Pierce hit the island ready to play. And play, she did.
PIERCE WAS READY IN 2000
Pierce dropped only 12 games in the entire 2000 Family Circle Cup. She defeated the great Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 6-1, 6-0, in that final, which turned out to be the last one played on Hilton Head Island.
Pierce literally knocked the cover off the tennis balls that week at Hilton Head Island. Opponents simply couldn’t touch her mighty forehands.
That week set the stage for what was to happen a few weeks later in Paris when she won the French Open.
COLLINS DOESN’T WASTE MANY SHOTS
Like Pierce, Collins is relatively tall as women’s tennis players go at 5-10. She is a strong hitter, and doesn’t waste many strokes sitting up her winners.
Collins generally controls the court with her placement and power. Collins breezed past talented Paula Badosa in her first match in the Charleston Open, dropping only five games, and then eliminated former Charleston champions Ons Jabeur and Sloane Stephens the next two rounds.
Only defending champion Jabeur has given Collins a test, taking Collins to a third set.
But Collins is on a roll, having won the big Miami tournament last weekend for her biggest accomplishment on the tour, climbing to No. 22 in the world in the process.
GOING OUT A WINNER IS IMPORTANT
Collins is preparing to retire after this season, and she wants to go out as a winner.
And, yes, she appears to be a little stronger than her possible opponents in the bottom half of the Charleston draw.
So, watch out. A copy of Mary Pierce may to lurking near another title on another island near the ocean.
“Obviously (it’s) not easy coming out and playing two matches back to back, but very rewarding thing to be able to accomplish against two incredibly high-level players, a top six player (Jabeur) and a Grand Slam champion (Stephens),” Collins said after her round of 16 blitzing of Stephens.
“So I should be able to take this and use it as confidence moving forward. Especially with the
previous health and physical challenges that I’ve had, it’s a really rewarding day for me.
“I always have felt that clay does suit my game well.”
Just like Mary Pierce.
COLLINS SOLID ON CLAY COURTS
“Unfortunately, with some previous health issues and surgeries and injuries, I’ve not always been able to play during the clay court season, and so I haven’t played as many tournaments
on clay that I previously would have liked to, because I do think when I play on clay and get kind of into a good rhythm, I have some great results,” Collins said.
“One of the tournaments that I’ve won on tour was on clay, and I played a lot on clay as a junior. So, it is a surface that I enjoy and that I’m comfortable on. I think just being pretty versatile and being able to move around the court and then playing my powerful
baseline game, it suits me well.
“I love playing in tournaments in the U.S. I wish we had more tournaments in the U.S., and I think a lot of players feel that way. When we get to have these tournaments, we want to take it all in and really get to be here as long as we can.”
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
