Nothing to lose but a lot to gain! The home favorite, Destanee Aiava recently staged an incredible comeback against Belgium’s Greet Minnen to mark her first main draw win at a major tournament. Shortly after her emphatic victory, Aiava said, “I’m just super happy to get through and finally win a first round of singles in a Grand Slam, especially at my home slam.” Next up, for her is America’s Danielle Collins! Can this 24-year-old Aussie beat an experienced campaigner like ‘Danimal’ in the second round of the 2025 AO?

Danielle Collins vs Destanee Aiava: Preview

Danielle Collins had a wonderful start to her season in 2024. She won two consecutive titles in Miami and Charleston. After that, she reached the SF of the Italian Open and even made it to the final at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. However, after that, she looked pretty ordinary for the rest of the year. So, perhaps it’s high time for Danielle Collins to bring back her old form and get things underway in style in 2025. She didn’t have a great start to the year, though. Collins was defeated by Ons Jabeur in the R32 of the Adelaide International. However, she looked quite impressive in her first-round match at the AO against Ukraine’s Daria Snigur. She defeated Snigur by 7-6(4),6-3.

On the other hand, Destanee Aiava already had clinched four victories in this tournament. Three of them came in the qualifiers and the previous one was Minnet. She defeated the Belgian by 5-7,7-5,7-6(5) in the first round. If we take a look at her record in the 2024 season, she won the ITF Australia 11A and the ITF Australia 14 A. Both of them came at the later phase of the season and apart from that, she also made quite a few longer runs in some of the the other ITF events in 2024. She looked impressive in her last match, but the question is can she deliver it on the big stage against a tough opponent like Collins?

Collins vs Aiava: Head-to-Head

It’s ‘Daniaml’ vs ‘Des’ at the Show Court Arena and guess what? This will be their first meeting on the Tour! Danielle Collins has never faced Destanee Aiava ever in her career. This is what makes this contest more interesting. It’ll be interesting to see if Aiava can come up with a few surprises in this match or not.

Prediction: Collins to straight sets

Well, considering Danielle Collins’ vast experience on the Tour and his overall record in the 2024 season, we’re keeping her ahead of this relatively inexperienced campaigner. However, having said, that we all know Destanee Aiava surely has the potential to cause a massive upset in this mega event. If we take a look at the numbers, Danielle Collins (11) had a win-loss record of 38-17 last season. On the other hand, Destanee Aiava’s (195) win-loss record on the ITF level was 32-18.

Now shifting our focus to their playing styles, Destanee Aiava is known for her powerful and aggressive style of play. Her incredible athleticism and ability to bring variation in her game is what makes her a really special player to watch out for in the near future. Danielle Collins, on the other hand, relies heavily on powerful serves and strong groundstrokes to seal the deal against her opponents. Her style of play allows her to hit a high number of winners, but she can also make a considerable number of high-risk unforced errors.

Danielle Collins’ biggest strengths are her kick serves and inside-out forehand. Aiava also needs to watch out for Collins’ lethal backhand. However, the American’s double-handed backhand is stronger than her forehand. Other than that, Collins also possesses strong volleying skills, allowing her to hit winners from any position on the court. So, looking at all these lethal weapons in her armory, we feel Collins may get an edge on this surface against the Aussie.