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MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAÃº

March 28, 2018

Danielle Collins

Miami, Florida

D. COLLINS/V. Williams

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tremendous performance today. What was the key to getting that done with that kind of scoreline?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, I obviously have an incredible amount of respect for Venus, but you kind of have to take the name out of it and just focus on the tennis part and play one point at a time and use your tactics that you come up with your coaches. That's exactly what I did.

Q. On the second set at 2-All when she broke back, you seemed to have a little bit of a wobble. You kind of rushed through a couple points, hit a couple of deep shots. Was it a tough period in the match for you? How did you play yourself out of it?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, it got a little tricky. The wind picked up a little. I was struggling with my serve pretty much the whole match.

So I just needed to take my time between points and regroup, and called my coach out to the court and didn't lose a game after that, I don't think.

Wait. I did. Sorry. I forgot about that game (smiling).

Q. You looked confident the whole time. You looked like you had complete composure. Where does that come from?
DANIELLE COLLINS: You know, I have put in the hard work my whole life, so at the end of the day, I know I have done literally everything I can do to put myself in the best situation. And if I win the match, I win the match and it's awesome. If I lose the match, I lose the match knowing that I did everything in my power to put myself in the best situation.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the thought process before this match? You knew you were playing Venus, center court, big stage. What was it like before the game and if it went as you thought it would?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, we were pretty laid back before the match. I was hanging out with my coaches. We were talking about my dog, we were looking at funny videos online. We had a pretty relaxed mindset going into it.

Obviously I was really excited to play and had some nerves going into it, but once I got out onto the court and had the crowd, playing in a big stadium like that is pretty cool, and I think that kind of fired me up.

Q. You list fishing on your hobbies and things. What kind of fishing do you do?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Honestly I don't do a lot of fishing anymore. I used to go fishing quite a bit. You know, my dad was a commercial fisherman for a long time when I was growing up, and I like grouper, I like snapper, you know, pretty much anything. Anything that's edible.

Q. This match, when you spoke with your coach before, what were the tactics against Venus tonight?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Well, honestly, I don't want to give too much away. We like to kind of keep that between all of us. But I kind of knew what side was weaker and I really wanted to expose that side as much as possible.

I wanted to expose her movement. I know that she had played a couple long matches here, and movement is one of my strengths. So if I can get into a situation where I'm running a lot, I like that, and I know that I can come out on top when I'm in those situations and long points.

So I wanted to get her kind of stretched off the court and open up the court for me. Just really get her running.

Q. Did you ever have second thoughts about going back to school after doing the NCAAs? We know that getting a degree meant a lot to you, but surely you must have been chomping at the bit, given your talent?
DANIELLE COLLINS: You mean going back, like, once I had won NCAAs the first time?

Q. Instead of turning pro.
DANIELLE COLLINS: No, I didn't really have second thoughts, to be honest, because, you know, it cost over $50,000 a year when you're out of state to go to University of Virginia, and I was really happy going to college and being on a team and being in the classroom, and I really wanted to get a degree.

So, yeah, I didn't really have any second thoughts. I knew when I was going to go to college I was going to finish it out.

Q. When you played in the juniors, were Venus and Serena heroes of yours or other players?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, of course. I think all young American girls idolize and look up to Venus and Serena. You know, growing up I watched so many of their matches, and I could really relate to them, just their upbringing.

I didn't have an easy upbringing. I didn't come from a super-wealthy family, and I wasn't at the country club every day playing in the little tennis camps with the other little kids. A lot of times I was at public courts playing against adults and asking people to play with me. You know, my upbringing was just a little bit different.

I think they kind of went through the same thing, and so that really resonates with me a lot.

Q. So you didn't play any of the academies like IMG or any of the others?
DANIELLE COLLINS: No, not when I was little. But I did start going to IMG when I was about 15. Nick Bollettieri kind of took me under his wing and really believed in me and thought I had a lot of talent, and I was allowed to go there and train, and that was a really special opportunity.

Q. Talk about playing on public courts and honing your game out there. There is resourcefulness in the way you play your tennis at the pro level, and college, as well. Do you feel like that upbringing is kind of the foundation of a little bit of how you see the court and how you play the game?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah. And I think it gives me a different perspective. I'm just, like, so grateful every time I go out on the court and get to play another tennis match, because I know it could be so much different.

And, you know, I think when you're little and you're having to go up to people and say, Hey, will you hit some balls with me, or, Will you play a practice match with me, it makes you be a little adult in some ways. It makes you grow up.

I think even at a young age I was pretty mature. When I go out here I'm always looking for different resources. The WTA has lots of resources. The USTA has lots of resources. IMG. I mean, there is plenty of resources. You just have to kind of utilize that to the fullest, and I think that's the biggest thing that I have learned.

Q. Reading the notes on you, it indicates that in college you did a media course. What aspects of media did you cover? What are your thoughts on that part of it?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, so luckily with the major that I chose, it kind of covered a wide range. I took a lot of foreign affairs classes. I took a lot of politics classes, a lot of communications, a lot of law and policy, so I really got a good mixture of a bunch of different subjects. It wasn't super-condensed, which I really liked.

Q. Ostapenko next. What are your thoughts there? Next-round thoughts?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Well, you know, I guess, you know, I played Ostapenko a long time ago, so I'm really excited now that we're kind of grown up to play against each other.

She's a fighter. She won the French Open. It's going to be another incredible opportunity for me, and I'm just really looking forward to get out on the court and having a great match.

Q. What do you remember of that Eddie Herr match?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Ah, not much, to be honest. We were on a clay court. We had a lot of long points. I won the match. So that's all I can really remember, to be honest.

Q. Are your parents here?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, they were here.

Q. When you played in the Eddie Herr, was that in the 16s or 18s?
DANIELLE COLLINS: The 18s.

Q. Straight sets, do you remember?
DANIELLE COLLINS: I believe so, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Q. How far did you go in that tournament that year?
DANIELLE COLLINS: I have no idea (smiling). That's long in the past.

Q. What's bigger to you: The win today over Venus, somebody that you have watched all these years, or making the semifinals of the Miami Open, your home tournament, basically? What kind of feels more significant to you in your head?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Probably beating Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and having it lead into the semifinals. It's such a, like, cool situation. I can't even wrap my head around it. I think I need a couple of hours to kind of process it.

Q. You had a great month, and you're going to take a big leap in the rankings. Do you feel fully prepared for this? It's going to be a different level of attention on you and different pressure going into matches. Do you think about this at all or is it all gravy, and you put your head down and go ahead at this point?
DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I'm kind of all business. I'm looking forward to what's in the future, and I just try to be in the moment and not think about the future too much, not think about the past too much.

I'm sure it will be more attention than maybe I have had in the past, but definitely up for it (smiling).

Q. (Off microphone.)
DANIELLE COLLINS: Depends. Yeah, I think. I don't know.

Q. You were just talking about beating Venus and the excitement of that. How are you going to avoid any potential letdown as you go into another match? You have just scored a win over a huge name. To avoid that sort of letdown, could it be a help the fact you have played Ostapenko before?
DANIELLE COLLINS: You know, letdowns happen. We have seen it across the board in every sport, especially in tennis. I mean, there has been people that are, like, top 10 in the world that lose, like, 15 matches in a row.

So those things happen, and I'm just really -- I'm kind of an in-the-moment person and I focus on what I need to do, the things I can control.

I don't really think about stuff like that, to be honest. I like to stay in the moment and take everything that I have and appreciate it. And I realize that in life there are going to be hard moments, and that's a part of life. But hopefully I can have more good moments than those letdowns.

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