“Special Treat”: Danielle Collins Credits Coach Nicolas Almagro for Her French Open 2020 Success

World No.57 Danielle Collins roared her way into the quarterfinals of French Open 2020 after she defeated 30th seed Ons Jabeur. It was a brilliant three-set victory for the American who reached her first French Open quarterfinal.

The match was quite entertaining. The first set was cagey, with both players enjoying strong service games. Collins had a good first serve with Jabeur mixing her shots really well. Collins finally broke Jabeur in the last game of the set, winning 6-4. Then Collins had taken a 3-0 lead in the 2nd set and looked set for a straight-set victory.

Jabeur regained control of the match as she converted her first two break points to level the 2nd set 4-4. Jabeur continued the surge and won the set 6-4. The last set was a rollercoaster with a total of seven breaks of serve. Collins struggled at the start but displayed some astute defending to stay in the rallies. And so Collins converted her first match point, winning the final set and match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

In her post-match interview, Collins credited her new coach Nicolas Almagro for her French Open 2020 run. The two just got together before the French Open and now in its earlier stages, the partnership looks quite potent.

“Yeah, Nico and I started working with each other last week so it’s all-new. I didn’t have a coach at the US Open so I tried to find somebody right away and luckily I found somebody with an incredible career somebody that was a top 10 player so it is a really special treat for me to be able to work with him.”

Danielle Collins and Nicolas Almagro’s partnership is just a week old

Her coach, Nico Almagro, retired from tennis last year and Danielle Collins is his first coaching assignment. He is a former top 10 players and notably has reached Grand Slam quarterfinals multiple times.

Collins next plays Australian Open 2020 champion Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinal. And interestingly, Collins leads the head-to-head between the two Americans 3-0. Kenin also hasn’t been able to win a set against Collins in all of their clashes.

Read More: “Not Tested At All”: Patrick Mouratoglou On Rafael Nadal And Novak Djokovic’s Draw at French Open 2020