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Round | Barty | Collins |
---|---|---|
First Round | Tsurenko (Q) 6-0, 6-1 | Dolehide (Q) 6-1, 6-3 |
Second Round | Bronzetti (Q) 6-1,6-1 | Konjuh 6-4, 6-3 |
3rd Round | Giorgi [30] 6-2, 6-3 | Tauson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 |
Round of 16 | Anisimova 6-4, 6-3 | Mertens (19) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
Quarter Final | Pegula (21) 6-2, 6-0 | Cornet 7-5, 6-1 |
Semi Final | Keys 6-1, 6-3 | Swiatek (7) 6-4, 6-1 |
Womens Final. Ashey Barty (1) vs. Danielle Collins (27)
7:30PM Start time
Weather: 24C Showers Easing, so it should be an outdoor match
Ashley Barty
Rank: 1
Highest Rank: 1
DOB: 24th April 1996, Ipswich, Qld Australia
WTA Titles: 14
Route to final
They have both beaten 2 seeds to reach the final but in both cases, I would say their hardest matches came from unseeded players. For Barty, it came in the returning Anisimova, fresh from beating Osaka and winning the Melbourne warm-up tournament. She went closest in Barty, taking one set to 4 and being the only player to break Barty serve in this tournament. Barty has taken care of most players with relative ease, both here and in her tournament win in Adelaide. Indeed, she has the 3rd most efficient run in tournament history with 21 games conceded in 6 matches.
2021 Year in Review
For Barty, it was another end of year number 1, despite missing the last part of the year due to tiredness and border issues. Her highlight was winning Wimbledon, becoming the first Aussie girl to do so since Goolagong. But she also won titles at Miami, Cinci (WTA 1000's), Adelaide, Yarra Valley and Stuttgart. She was only beaten in one final in 2021, at the 1000 event in Madrid. She had a 42/9 record for the year. Her previous best result at the Australian Open was in 2020, where she made the semi-final before losing in 2 sets to Kenin. Her previous best grand slam result was at the French Open (2019) and Wimbledon (2021), where she won the tournament.
Danielle Collins
Rank 30
Highest Rank: 14
DOB 13th December 1993, St Petersburg, Florida USA
WTA Titles: 2
Route to final
I would say unseeded Tauson, fresh from beating Kontaveit was Collins' hardest test. Collins was down 4-2 in that 2nd set before winning a close one in the heat of the morning. Collins played a lot of morning matches on RLA and her match v Mertens was very similar to her match against Tauson. Tough, tight and coming back from dropping the first set. She did not play a warm-up tournament. She easily dispatched Cornet and Swiatek, both of who had a slow start after a tough previous match.
2021 Year in Review
Collins a mixed year. She started the year as the 25th ranked player and ended it as the 29th. A 2nd round exit at Australia was followed by an extended break due to surgery. Her results were average til July when she won her first WTA tournament on the clay of Palermo. And she would win her 2nd and first hardcourt tournament shortly after at the WTA 500 event at Silicon Valley. Shortly after, she would beat Halep at Montreal. She would end the year winning more early matches she should and losing the ones she should. She would end the year with a 37/15 record. Her previous best result at the Australian Open was in 2019, where she made the semi-final before losing in 2 sets to Kenin. Her previous best grand slam result was that result at the Australian Open.
Head 2 Head
3-1 to Barty. The last match was last year on the same surface as this in Adelaide, in which Collins won 6-3, 6-4. But Barty was tired and Collins would retire in her next match due and later have surgery due to a long term issue. The more meaningful would be the 2020 Adelaide Semifinal, in which Barty would win 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5). That is the only 2 times they have met on hardcourt.
Prediction
Collins played extremely well to thrash Swiatek and Cornet. She has fought tooth and nail against Mertens and Tauson. She will not be phased by the crowd or the atmosphere. She will have a small dedicated and loud group of fans and that's it. But she will yell and be in your face and smash the ball, especially the backhand. But Barty has been on another level this tournament. I expect the first set to be close before Barty runs away with the 2nd when she finds her groove. 6-4, 6-1 to Barty
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