WATCH: Danielle Collins is still in Barbie Land after Montreal opening victory

WATCH: Madison Keys defeats Venus Williams in the 2023 National Bank Open first round

She’s just Danielle! Resurgent American Danielle Collins scored a statement victory on Tuesday, as the qualifier stormed past Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal.

Currently ranked No. 48, Collins was competing in qualifying at a WTA event for the first time since 2019. She knocked out home favorite Eugenie Bouchard in her opening match, and then edged past Emina Bektas to earn her spot in the main draw. Up against Svitolina, whose Wimbledon semifinal run turned heads last month, Collins scored her first Top 30 win of the year in one-sided fashion.

But how did the 29-year-old maintain her focus to score her biggest win of 2023?

“I don’t know! My head has been taken for a spin,” Collins laughed during a post-match interview. “We went to see the Barbie movie last night… It was like full Barbie theme this morning!

“That’s where my head is at… I’ve just got all the songs stuck in my head.”

Maybe she should give Barbie a rewatch before her next match, where she will face No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari. Collins trails Sakkari 0-2 in their head-to-head.

The American was reminded by Canadian press of a moment in 2016, when the player who defeated Bouchard—Kristina Kucova of Slovakia—becoming that tournament’s Cinderella story. Would Collins want to be the same? Not quite, she says.

“Maybe it will be like the Barbie story, though, because the new Barbie movie is out!”