Serena Williams put in an amazing display on Friday to qualify for the French Open fourth-round with an opportunity at entering the set of history books not too far off.
The 39-year-old defeated individual American Danielle Collins 6-4 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier, as the ladies’ draw opened up with some high-seed, ahead of schedule round knockouts as of now.
After No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka was upset early Friday by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Williams got one of only four Top 10 seeds left in the women’s draw.
“That felt really good for me,” Williams said afterwards in her post-match press conference. “Things were not going my way. It’s not like she gave me those games. I had to earn it and turn it around. That was really positive for me going into the next match.
She is aiming to rise to Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slams, however has not made it past the fourth-round at Roland Garros since 2016.
Williams, a three-time French Open champion, was tried all through the entire encounter by her compatriot.
In a major hitting, guns blazing blasting first set, Collins had to defend break points and surprisingly a set point until in the end, Williams had the seal the opening set with an ace.
Also, with an opening break in the second set, it appeared as though Collins may crumble.
In any case, showing remarkable resolve in the face of adversity, the 27-year-old ran through four consecutive games to race into a 4-1 lead.
Falling into that deficit seemed to awaken Williams, as she dominated five straight games to fit the bill for the fourth-round in Paris for the 13th time.
“It was a bit disappointing after being up 4-1,” Collins said afterwards. “I think Serena played some really great tennis to come back. I don’t think I played my best in those moments. I just have to try to learn from it, hopefully do better next time and be able to close out the set.
“I said [after the match] I’d love to see her win the whole thing and I’d be supporting her. I think we all admire and love Serena, especially the American players. It was pretty surreal today to go out there and be playing against somebody I remember watching at age 9 and 10, playing here, to be here, to be sharing that court with her, this experience. I hope that I can be a steppingstone to her winning another slam. It would be really exciting and cool, so I’m going to be following every point.”
Williams will currently confront Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the No. 21 seed, for a spot in the quarterfinals.