Collins follows Miami win with victory at Charleston Open

CHARLESTON, (AP):

Danielle Collins powered to her second straight WTA title, following her Miami Open victory with the Charleston Open championship yesterday.

Collins defeated 2017 Charleston champion Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1 for her 13th straight match victory. She became the first player since fellow American Serena Williams in 2013 to win Miami and Charleston in consecutive weeks.

“Thank you for allowing me to live out my dream,” Collins told the crowd at the trophy ceremony.

Collins, a 30-year-old who has said this season will be her last on the WTA Tour because she’s suffering from endometriosis (a condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus) has made it a memorable one. She led 3-0 in the opening set, where she broke Kasatkina’s serve twice as the crowd cheered the American’s every move.

Collins didn’t let up in the second set, taking a 5-0 lead before the Russian held serve. She closed the match with a volley at the net, pumping her fist as her face broke into a smile.

Collins, who is ranked 22nd, has won 26 of her past 27 sets. The only set she dropped on the green clay came on Wednesday against 2023 Charleston winner Ons Jabeur.

Kasatkina, who is ranked 11th, played with a heavy wrap on her right thigh. She struggled with her serve throughout, regularly putting herself behind.

The way Collins has played, it was an impossible hole from which to dig out.