Miami 2024: Danielle Collins to meet Elena Rybakina in first WTA 1000 final

Danielle Collins roared to one of the biggest wins of her career on Thursday at the Miami Open, powering past 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-3, 6-2, to reach her first WTA 1000 final. The moment means even more because it comes in the American's final WTA Tour appearance in her native Florida.

“It's even more special in my home state," she said in her on-court interview. "My dad said to me when I was a kid... I wanted to come here so bad, and he's like, ‘You’re only going if you play in the tournament.' So I had to make the tournament. I’ve had a couple good years here, but this is definitely the most memorable.”

Set to retire at the end of the 2024 season, Collins has been batting cleanup with her last licks in Miami. She has now won 12 consecutive sets to reach the final, never losing more than three games in a frame during the streak.

A former world No. 7, Collins was a finalist at the 2022 Australian Open and also won WTA titles in Palermo and San Jose in 2021. She also reached the Miami semis in her 2018 debut, her best previous WTA 1000 result. With the perspective of her past success, the veteran is fully appreciating the magnitude of her run.

"This feels like a really big accomplishment," she said in her post-match press conference. "I think all of us want to make finals of 1000-level tournaments. These are our biggest tournaments of the year, aside from the Grand Slams. This is just so special. I can't stress it enough about being in my home state and having my dog here, friends, family. It's really special."

With the help of 21 winners and five aces, Collins beat Alexandrova in just 70 minutes to set up a final showdown with 2022 Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina.

The first American women's singles finalist in Miami since Sloane Stephens won the 2018 title, Collins is bidding to become the event's first unseeded champion since Kim Clijsters in 2005. At 30 years of age, Collins is the fourth-oldest WTA 1000 finalist since the tournament category was introduced in 2009.

Austin Krajicek added to the American success on Thursday with a semifinal win of his own in Miami. Krajicek and Croatia's Ivan Dodig edged Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-7, to set up a marquee final between the tournament's top two seeds. The reigning Roland Garros champions will play top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on Saturday for the title.

Two all-American women's doubles teams will take the court for semifinal action on Friday with the hopes of doing their part to set up an all-U.S. final. Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will meet Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, with Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks set to face second seeds Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski.