Barbora Krejcikova completes major QF singles set with Wimbledon win over Danielle Collins

WIMBLEDON—For the second consecutive day, an American woman left No. 1 Court to have her left leg wrapped and, soon after, lost a round of 16 match. Yesterday it was Madison Keys, eventually compelled to retire in the third set versus Jasmine Paolini. This evening came a tough finish for Danielle Collins against Barbora Krejcikova.

Serving at 1-3, 0-15 in the second set after losing the first set, the 11^th-seeded Collins misfired a crosscourt forehand swing volley and called for the trainer. After a short evaluation, Collins exited the court. Returning five minutes later, Collins lost the next two points. Armed with a two-break lead, the 31^st-seeded Krejcikova suffered a hiccup when serving for the match at 5-2, but in the next game, rallied to break Collins at love and emerge the victor, 7-5, 6-3.

By virtue of having advanced to her first Wimbledon singles quarterfinal, Krejcikova has now reached the last eight at all four majors. “So for me being here at the Wimbledon, being part of the competition and being part of the traditions, I mean, strawberries and all white, all this, I mean, I really like it,” said Krejcikova. “It's something that I like that's little bit also part of my personality. I like all these history stuff and the tradition.”

It was unfortunate to see such a compelling style contrast fizzle this way. Last fall, I’d been courtside in San Diego for the only other match these two had played versus one another, a terrific semi narrowly won by Krejcikova, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. This evening at Wimbledon, as the two split the first ten games, a similar compelling path seemed plausible.

The differences between these two are crystal-clear in everything from sound to playing style to emotion. Collins is transparent, her intermittent loud mid-rally grunts, powerful groundstrokes, and body language richly on display. Krejcikova is opaque, a complete poker face cloaking a game of various speeds and spins. In the same rally, don’t be surprised to see her hit slices and drives from both sides.

Said Collins, “Yeah, I think I have a pretty aggressive game style. I think Barbora has great variety in her game. She's a solid mover. I am usually a solid mover. We both have strong serves and returns.”

Speaking about Collins, Krejcikova said, “She's very talented. She has a huge fighting spirit. I mean, I have a huge respect for her as for the player.”

At 5-all on Collins’ serve, Krejcikova extracted several errors, won the game on her fourth break point and subsequently served out the set at 30. Then, with Krejcikova serving at 2-1 in the second set, Collins tweaked the back of her left leg.

“I wasn't thinking critically about every step that I was taking,” said Collins. “It's amazing how I think on the grass, how much the movement is in your mind and you think about every little step that you take. I feel like I stopped thinking about that for one second, and I ended up hurting my leg. So that was pretty frustrating, really disappointing.”

Even more poignantly, this evening’s match concluded Collins’ Wimbledon career. Given how well Collins has played in 2024, it was fitting that her round of 16 run at the All England Club marked her best Wimbledon effort. “This is one of my favorite tournaments,” said Collins. “I just think the historical preservation, what they do here is so, so special. It's one of the most special events in sports history. I always love coming here. I feel the warmth from the people who put so much effort behind this event really make it what it is. It is just one of the coolest experiences you can get to have as an athlete, being able to come and compete here.”

Krejcikova next faces red-hot Jelena Ostapenko. The two have played another seven times. Ostapenko has won five, including the most recent in a straight-set victory a year ago when she lifted the grass-court trophy at Birmingham. “I kind of grew up with Jelena,” said Krejcikova. “She is a tough opponent. She's playing good tennis. I expect it's going to be a very, very difficult match.” This one too figures to be yet another striking style contrast.