Collins beats former World Number 1 in straight sets

American Danielle Collins produced the performance of the day at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, defeating four-time Grand Slam-winner Naomi Osaka in straight sets to progress to the last 16.

There were also wins for Heather Watson, Cristina Bucșa, Magda Linette and Sara Sorribes Tormo on another action-packed day at the WTA 500 event.

Collins and Osaka, a two-time champion at both the US Open and Australian Open, went head-to-head on Stadium Court on Tuesday, with both players barely dropping a point in their service games during the early stages and the American, at one point, firing three consecutive Aces. 

After breaking Osaka’s serve, it was Collins who eventually edged the first set 7-5, and while the 2022 Australian Open runner-up’s performance levels intensified during the second, Osaka struggled to regain any sense of rhythm in her play.

Collins dominated the second set, breaking Osaka’s serve on three occasions to secure a highly impressive 7-5, 6-0 victory and set up a huge last-16 clash with World Number. 5 Elena Rybakina later this week.