Danielle Collins advances to Australian Open Round of 16

Virginia alum Danielle Collins defeated 19th seeded Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 on Friday (Thursday here in the U.S.) to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open, the first grand slam tournament of the year.

Collins, who became just one of seven women ever to win two NCAA individual singles titles while competing for UVa, had never won a grand slam main draw match coming in to Melbourne. Now, after besting No. 14 seed Julia Goerges in a three-set thriller to open play and then posting two quick wins over fellow American Sachia Vickery and the aforementioned Garcia earlier yesterday, she remains alive in the second week of play.

“I was ready to take care of business and was feeling very confident with my shots, and ready to go after it [...] I did that from the very first point,” Collins said after her third round victory. “I’ve worked really hard for this my whole life [...] I’ve really put the work in, and it’s been a long journey.”

Collins will look to continue her breakout run on Saturday night 11:00 p.m. ET when she faces world number two Angelique Kerber.