ROLAND GARROS

October 4, 2020

Danielle Collins

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/G. Muguruza

7-5, 2-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was going through your mind when you were down in the third and now you've pulled it out and made the fourth round for the first time?

DANIELLE COLLINS: You know, she was playing really well, and there was only so much I could do. I just told myself, Okay, I've got to ride out the storm a little bit. Just give it all I have. Just stick through the process.

It was really challenging at times because of how well she was playing, particularly how well she was serving. Some of the shots she was coming up with sometimes were just too good. I had to accept that and move on and just try to stay as positive as I could.

Q. I know a lot of people who were watching the TV were shouting your trademark, "Come on" when you won, so well played. Bear with me. If you lose what I'm saying I will try to explain it a bit better. I know that you are a rock-paper-scissors champion. I understand that you were unbeaten three years or something crazy like that. So I have a rock-paper-scissors question about today's match. My rock question is: Was there ever a time in the match where you felt like you were playing as solid as a rock? My paper question: If you could write a few words on a piece of paper to describe how you're feeling right now, what would it be? And my scissors question is: How do you feel about making the cut into the last 16?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Can you repeat the first part of that?

Q. Yeah, so rock: Was there ever a time in the match where you felt solid as a rock?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think the last two games of the first set and the last two games of the third set.

Q. Paper: If you could write down on a piece of paper a few words about how you're feeling right now, what would they be?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, I'm feeling really accomplished. It was one of the bigger wins in my career. She's an incredible champion, one of the best clay-courters on tour.

So I'm just really excited that I was able to beat a player like her and now move forward into the tournament. I haven't made second week of a slam in a while, and it's been one of my goals this year. Yeah, I'm just feeling really grateful.

Q. Following up on that, finally scissors: How do you feel about making the cut into the last 16?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, I think with all of the challenges this year has presented with COVID, with personal struggles, with health struggles, whatever it's been, I'm just really proud of myself for finding a way to have a positive attitude on court and to keep working hard every day and just trying my best.

Q. Just wondering in that third set, at what point did you maybe start to feel the vibe kind of change out there in terms of -- because she was playing so well, and then it seemed like as you were staying there right with her, something seemed to kind of shift and I'm just curious from your perspective when that came.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, the first two games of the third set I felt like the points that she won at the end of those games she hit very good shots. Particularly one point on my serve at 0-0 deuce where I had a great serve out wide and she hit a winner that got inside of the line down the line, and I wasn't expecting that. Then she played another great point to win the game.

Then on the 1-0 her serving to win the game, there was a point where she hit the back of the tape and then hit another one close to the line, and I said, Okay, it's too good. If she's gonna play like this, she's going to play like this and I'm going to have to come up with something different.

I think at 2-0 I went in with the mentality of trying to play a little bit more aggressive and to take some time away from her and to just step up and trust my shots. That's what I was telling myself, just to trust myself and to do the best I could.

Because she was playing incredible. I felt she couldn't have been serving any better in that second set and in the beginning of the third set, and I needed to do something different. So I needed to put some more pressure on her. That's exactly what I did the rest of the way through.

Yeah, I think that kind of answers it.

Q. Just asking about Nicolas Almagro was in your box. How did that come about? What's it been like working with him?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, went through a coaching change this year. I was working with a different coach earlier in the year, and unfortunately that did not work out.

We had reached out, my team had reached out to Patrick Mouratoglou, and he set us up with Nico. It's been awesome. Obviously I was familiar with Nico as a player and having such a successful career. That's an amazing thing to kind of, to have in a coach, because he knows what I'm going through in these big moments and the pressures that kind of come along with the day-to-day job of being a tennis player.

I have never worked with a coach that -- well, I guess, yeah, I think this might be the first time I have worked with a coach that has been a top-10 player. I think that's a really important thing, because he knows what it takes to be at that level and that's something I would like to try to achieve.

Q. I'm curious just what have you already learned from him? What have your conversations been with him? Top-10 player, different tour, men's tour, and very recently too. What have you most gained in your short time with Nico so far?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, we have talked a lot about attitude on court and believing in myself. I think that's probably the biggest thing.

We're still getting to know each other. We've only worked with each other for like a week, so I'm still getting to learn a lot.

I don't really want to give away too much of what he's teaching me, because this is a really special -- this is a special experience, so I'm just savoring it all (smiling).

Q. So you have had some brutal draws here before. How different was it approaching your draw this time? I know you don't look ahead. You had a qualifier first round. Was it a relief or different pressure for that kind of situation?

DANIELLE COLLINS: I'm not sure. I think every match I go out and play, I respect my opponents the same. Whether they are ranked 400 in the world or top 10 in the world, I have so much respect for everybody that comes out and is going to compete at this level.

We have seen that multiple players in the draw who battled their way through qualifying, and when I drew Niculescu, you know, my first reaction was, Well, that's a tricky player to draw first round, because there's nobody that really plays like her or emulates her game style.

So it was it was a different feeling, I think. And then she had also played a lot of matches on the clay, where I came from the U.S. to here and didn't play any matches on the clay. So I was a little bit nervous just about not having any matches before this. It took me a little bit of time to get acclimated into match mode because I had a few weeks off there from competition.

Q. I'm just kind of curious, coming into this event, obviously round of 16 here, you made round of 16 at the Australian Open to make, you know, second weeks of two very different types of tournaments, especially the way that Roland Garros is playing this year, being a little bit heavier. What do you think your ability to do that says about you as a tennis player and also just as a competitor?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think as a competitor, you know, just always striving to give my best and to compete every point and to never give up, that's my mindset. So I think that suits anybody well on any surface.

So I think as far as my game goes, it shows that I can be a versatile player. I think a lot of people kind of just assumed that I'm a really aggressive baseliner, and I play mindless tennis at times and then I just go after every shot.

I think I have shown through a lot of the matches here that I'm able to do some things that maybe people wouldn't assume that I'd be able to do.

And I have been moving well on the clay courts, as well, so that's been helping me. I think just my overall athleticism helps, to be able to make adjustments and to be versatile.

Q. On the surface, I imagine you have played a lot on American clay, but this is only your third season on European clay. Just wondering what are the specific challenges for you of playing on clay and what do you have to do?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, that's a great question. So when I was growing up, I grew up in Florida and we actually have a lot of green clay. So I played a lot as a kid on the green clay.

But when I went to college I got used to competing only on hard courts, and so there was a four-year period where I never really stepped foot on a clay court for a very long period of time. I was just competing, practicing, always playing on hard courts.

When I turned pro, I realized, Okay -- at the challenger level, I started playing some clay court tournaments in the U.S., and I didn't have the best results. I think getting used to the bad bounces, getting used to not always, you know, getting a perfect feel sometimes, you know, you'll slide and then the clay will be a little bit higher than the other side of the body.

There is just different elements that you face on a clay court that you wouldn't deal with on a hard court. I think the movement is probably the biggest thing. Then the bounces, because you get a really true type of bounce on the hard courts. And then on the clay sometimes it can, it will hit a spot and then it will kind of go funny or it will go below, or it can go over your head.

Just learning how to be more versatile. And then also being able to let that, sometimes when points don't go my way because I have an unlucky bounce, just being able to let it go and move on.

I think the movement has been key. I am fortunate enough to have actually have a clay court in my neighborhood where I live. And I was practicing a little bit on the clay courts during the preseason because I didn't want to go six-plus months without playing on clay. So it's something that I have worked on a lot, and I think that it makes my game (indiscernible) to be a better player on the clay.

Q. Your thoughts on your next opponent, which was Ons Jabeur? She's an unconventional player.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, she's had some incredible results. She's an unbelievable competitor. I think it's going to be a little bit different match than I faced today.

I'm going to have to sit down with Nico and I'm sure he's going to have some great advice for me moving forward.

Q. Is it a challenge, it's his first time coaching against a lot of these players, breaking down WTA players. Are you telling him more about players you might know more than some of the players that he does? How does that learning curve work for you two together?

DANIELLE COLLINS: No, to be honest, I don't think it's rocket science. Nico has played tennis most of his life and has an incredible amount of success.

The men's game is definitely different than the women's game, but I think he understands what I'm going through as a competitor. And he has also played on tour for, you know, 15-plus years, I think. So he's seen a lot of these women that I'm competing against play over the years, and so he knows what to expect.