The Pick: Kristina Mladenovic vs. Danielle Collins, Miami first round

After a successful start to her season in Australia, Danielle Collins is hoping for another strong showing in her home state of Florida. It was at the 2018 Miami Open where Collins kickstarted her rise to the WTA’s Top 25, where she advanced through qualifying to reach the semifinals before falling to Jelena Ostapenko.

The American will hope to avenge her convincing loss to Kiki Mladenovic at the 2019 China Open, where she fell, 6-3, 6-2. Things should be different this time around, as Collins is listed as a substantial -280 favorite according to DraftKings Sporstbook, and projected to win by 4.5 total games.

Expect aggressive tennis from start to finish, as Mladenovic and Collins rarely sell themselves short on a shot. In Beijing, Mladenovic inflicted the bulk of her damage on her return of serve.

She earned a look at 12 break points and converted half of them with shots like this.

Collins found success in forcing Mladenovic to defend and move around the court, but that was about it.

However, Mladenovic’s career has experienced a steady decline since cracking the Top 10 in 2017, while Collins appears to be maintaining positive momentum. During the Australian swing, Collins went 9-4, which included a straight-set win over world No. 1 Ash Barty in Adelaide to cap off her time Down Under.

Expect Collins, undoubtedly one of the most competitive athletes on tour, to avenge her 2019 loss in straight-forward fashion.

The Pick: Danielle Collins