Danielle Collins (world number 15) was invited to the queens’ table in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, alongside Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, world numbers 1, 2 and 3.
The American, 30, qualified for the last four on Wednesday by beating Victoria Azarenka (34, number 24) 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter.
She will find on her way another Belarusian, Aryna Sabalenka (number 2), the only one of her last twenty opponents to have beaten her, and again with great difficulty.
Since the announcement at the beginning of the year of his retirement at the end of the season, Collins has continued to win: his success over Azarenka, former world leader, is the 19e in his last 20 matches.
The first set saw a crossover between two thirty-somethings who met again five years after their previous face-to-face.
Azarenka took Collins’ first service game and pulled away 2-0. Collins broke immediately and lined up five games, setting an infernal pace.
The Belarusian, former world number 1, returned to 5-4 but, while serving, made an error of judgment with serious consequences: by volleying with the end of the racket a ball from the American which was probably going out, she offered a set point to Collins who took the set.
In the second, Collins controlled the operations even better, finally going into the half after 1 hour 44 minutes of play.
Sabalenka passed the quarter-finals more easily, beating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, title winner at Roland-Garros in 2017, 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour 12 minutes.
After an easily won first round, Sabalenka, double title holder at the Australian Open, was held up a little at the start of the second by Ostapenko. But the Belarusian managed to make the break at 4-3, before finishing a little further on her first match point.
The other semi-final will pit Polish Iga Swiatek (number 1) against American Coco Gauff (number 3).
Zverev foresees the final
Among the men, the doors to a possible final opened a little more for Alexander Zverev (world number 5), who defeated Taylor Fritz (number 13) in the quarters.
In a clash between two players of the same generation who are starting to know each other well – it was their eighth face-to-face – the German, 27, succeeded against the American, 26, to do very early the only break of the first set. Sovereign in service, he kept it until the end of a set won 6-4 thanks to an ace.
As Roland-Garros approaches, where he remains in two semi-finals, Zverev demonstrated, through the power, precision and power of his shots, the stability of his supports, that he was approaching his best shape on its fetish surface.
He will find Alejandro Tabilo on his way to a place in the final, which would be his third in Rome after the one won in 2017 and the one lost in 2018.
But if he will be the big favorite, Zverev will have to be wary of a player ranked 32e at the ATP, who at the age of 26 will play the first semi-final of a tournament other than a 250 of his career.
The Chilean left-hander, winner this year of his first ATP tournament, eliminated Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov, world number 1 and 18, in his Roman round.