Playing her first-ever WTA 1000 final in what is her final season on tour, Florida-native Danielle Collins battled past Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3 in a thrilling match to clinch the Miami Open title.
The 30-year-old Collins recorded her 16th main-draw win in 2024, marking her best start to a season in her career. As for Rybakina, the world No.4 suffered her second consecutive defeat in the Miami final, having lost to Petra Kvitova the previous year.
In a match-up between two players with the largest number of winners at the tournament, unseeded Collins saved four break points in the seventh game, and one crucial break point in the eleventh, denying Rybakina a late lead in the tightly contested opening set. The American then had the edge in the following game, on Rybakina’s serve, and capitalized on her third set point, as the Kazakhstani sent a shot long.
World No.53 Collins continued her momentum into the second set, quickly taking a 2-0 lead and coming within a point of going up 3-0. However, Rybakina thwarted Collins’s attempt to consolidate the break by breaking back immediately. The fourth seed then leveled the set at 2-2, getting back on serve.
At 3-3 the outcome of the match was being determined, when Collins saved two break points and edged the intense game. The 2022…
