Red Alert in Rome! ‘Danimal’ will be in action in just a few moments from now at the Foro Italico. She will take on Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the R16 of the 2024 Italian Open. Danielle Collins is in red-hot form this year. She has already clinched two titles this season and has reached two quarterfinals in her previous tournaments in 2024. Aryna Sabalenka snapped Danielle Collins’ 15-match winning streak at the end of April. The 30-year-old American will be keen to get back to her title-winning track in Italy.

She has already got off to a winning start in Rome and has won her previous two matches. Collins loves to dominate her opponents, and she exactly did that in her previous two encounters. Like a hungry predator feeding on its prey, and then strolling back to the den, waiting for the next prey to come in. Talking about his next opponent, well, this will be Irina-Camelia Begu’s third tournament this year. She hasn’t played much this season. Can she give a fight against ‘Danimal’?

Danielle Collins vs Irina-Camelia Begu: Preview

Danielle Collins faced France’s Caroline Garcia in the R32 clash at the Grand Stand Arena. In that match, the American comfortably defeated the French tennis star by a 6-3,6-3 margin. Collins fired a total of seven aces against Garcia and committed eight double faults in that match. Her first-serve win percentage (83%) was quite impressive, however, it dropped to 50% on her second-serve. She successfully converted five of her six breakpoints against Caroline Garcia.

If we take a look at her stats for this season, Caroline Garcia has hit a total of 126 aces. But the most concerning factor would be the number of double faults (136) she has committed so far this year. She has won 74.3% of her service games this year, while it’s just 40.3% on the return games. Collins is someone who loves to dictate the match right from the word go. Can she repeat the same against her Romanian opponent?

Talking about Irina-Camelia Begu, well she hasn’t played much this year. However, she looked quite impressive in her previous match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The 33-year-old Romanian defeated Mertens by 6-2,6-0 to make her way into the R16 of the tournament. However, Begu failed to hit even a single ace in the entire match but committed six double faults. Her first-serve win percentage was 71%, while it was just around 63% on the second-serve. She converted six out of her nine breakpoints against the Belgian.

Can she convert her chances against the mighty American? Looking at her overall numbers from this season, there isn’t much to take a call from that. But there are a few other stats that might help us to predict this intriguing contest. Begu reached the SF of the ITF Germany 02A before taking her flight to Rome. But is it enough to boost her confidence before entering into this battle against the number 15 in the world?

Collins vs Begu: Head-to-head

Both of them have met only once in their careers so far. It was at the 2018 Miami Open. In that faceoff, Danielle Collins thrashed Irina-Camelia Begu by 6-1,6-1. However, Collins failed to hit a single ace in that match but committed two double faults. Begu, on the other hand, opened her account by hitting one ace and five double faults against the American. Danielle Collins won 76% of her first serve compared to a staggering 85% of her second serve in that match. While the Romanian won 56% of her first serve and just 22% of her second serve. Begu is currently ranked 161 in the women’s single ranking. Can she make her presence felt against the number 15?

Prediction: Collins to win in two sets

Although Irina-Camelia Begu has previously reached the semifinals of this tournament in 2016, Danielle Collins has been in beast mode this season. No one would dare to rule her out of any tournament this year. Especially against a lower-ranked opponent, she is surely going to flex her muscles, showcasing zero tolerance! Collins has a win-loss record of 28-8 this season, while Begu has a record of 8-3. Although Danielle Collins couldn’t manage to make a deep run into this tournament before, she did manage to reach the QF of the French Open in 2020.

So, her abilities on this surface shouldn’t be a question at all! Her aggressive style of player and fearless attitude may be a bit heavy on the Romanian opponent. Collins would like to fully capitalize on her powerful serves and strong groundstrokes to wrap up this match quickly. But for Begu, the key will be to take the match deeper. She has all the potential to do this on this surface. But can the Romanian come up with a surprising result? A big no! In-form Danielle Collins will always have an edge in this contest.