BY JAMES BECK
Unseeded Danielle Collins just keeps winning. She made it 11 straight wins with another relatively easy straight-set win in Friday’s quarterfinals of the Credit One Charleston Open.
This time, it was veteran Elise Mertens that suffered a 6-3, 6-4 loss at the hands of Collins, who continues on her retirement party year.
But the real excitement on Daniel Island was the “won’t quit” pair of Jessica Pegula and former Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka. Things got so intriguing at one point late in their marathon that Pegula actually looked back at Azarenka and grinned about one of the points.
PEGULA AND AZARENKA WOULDN’T GIVE IN
This one wasn’t about money. The Pegula family is rolling in the $6.8 billion wealth of multi-major sports team owner dad Terry Pegula, the owner of the Buffalo Bills and more.
So, Jessie would not give up, and neither would early-to-late bloomer Azarenka at 34 years of age. They just kept playing, one trying to out-do the other in a 16-point tiebreaker.
Pegula saved four match points before she reached into her bag of tricks to save a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7) victory in the quarterfinals.
So, now that sends the top-seeded Pegula against 2017 Charleston champion Daria Kasatkina in the semifinals, while Miami Open winner Collins faces Greek ball of fire third seed Maria Sakkari in the bottom half.
COLLINS: GO OUT WITH A BANG
“Like I said earlier in the week, this is my last year, and I want to go out with a bang and just play my best tennis and do the best that I can,” Collins said.
Pegula has never lost to Kasatkina, and their match should be just a stepping stone to Sunday’s final.
“I expect the same thing I always expect from Daria. She’s just kind of a wall,” Pegula said.
But it will be difficult to top the match Pegula and Azarenka played.
“That was obviously a really crazy match, really, really crazy. But I am excited that I was able to get through, kind of hold my nerve, barely at the end there. But I was able to do it, and hopefully I can use this math as a big confidence, kind of, builder and for momentum going forward and even for tomorrow.
“To be honest, I wasn’t feeling that great. It was really windy. I was like, ugh, I’m tight.”
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
