COLLINS AND DOLEHIDE ADVANCE TO QUARTERFINALS
AT ORACLE CHALLENGER SERIES IN INDIAN WELLS
Friday’s Quarterfinal Schedule to Get Underway at 10 a.m.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – (March 1, 2018) – One day after clinching a wildcard into next week’s BNP Paribas Open, Danielle Collins pulled off the biggest surprise of the Oracle Challenger Series as the 24-year-old from St. Petersburg, Fla., ousted top-seeded Magda Linette of Poland 5-7, 7-6 (0), 6-4 in second round action at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Collins, a former two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Virginia, got off to a quick start as she established a 5-2 lead in the first set. However, the momentum shifted as Linette, ranked No. 56 in the world dropped only five points in sweeping the next five consecutive games to win the first set.

In the second set, Linette served for the match at 5-4, but Collins came through with a match-saving service break to tie the set score at 5-5. Later, when the set went to a tie-break, Collins won seven straight points to sweep the tie-breaker and send the match to a deciding third set.

With the Stadium 4 crowd cheering her on, Collins opened the third set with a key service break. That was all she needed as she held serve in all five of her service games in the set in dominating fashion to close out the match in two hours and 25 minutes.

“I had some opportunities in the first set. I was up 5-2, but it slipped away. She played some really good tennis. Even though I lost the first set 7-5, I knew that if I could just play 10 percent better, I could win the second set,” Collins said.

“I had a moment there where it wasn’t looking too well. I was a set down and 5-3. Luckily, I was able to keep my head screwed on and stay tough in the tough moments and pull out some really clutch shots. I’m just happy to advance to the next round,” she added.

Collins moves into Friday’s quarterfinals, where she will meet 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani of Italy. Also advancing to the quarterfinals was Caroline Dolehide of Orlando, Fla., a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) winner over Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei. Dolehide will take on fellow American Amanda Anisimova on Friday.

In the men’s draw, 23-year-old Christian Harrison got past fellow American Dennis Novikov 6-3, 7-6 (5) to gain a spot in the quarterfinals. He will face third-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada on Friday.

Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Indian Wells, Calif.
Thursday’s Results

Men’s Singles
Second Round
[1] M. Copil (ROU) d [Q] M. Krueger (USA) 61 16 64
[3] V. Pospisil (CAN) d [Q] M. Giron (USA) 46 76(6) 61
D. King (BAR) d [7] J. Chardy (FRA) walkover
[Q] C. Harrison (USA) d D. Novikov (USA) 63 76(5)

Men’s Doubles
Quarterfinals
A. Krajicek (USA) / J. Withrow (USA) d [3] J. Chardy (FRA) / R. Lindstedt (SWE) walkover
P. Polansky (CAN) / A. Shamasdin (CAN) d P. Petzschner (GER) / T. Smyczek (USA) 64 46 10-8
[WC] E. King (USA) / N. Pasha (USA) d S. Stakhovsky (UKR) / M. Youzhny (RUS) 76(4) 62

Women’s Singles
Second Round
[WC] D. Collins (USA) d [1] M. Linette (POL) 57 76(0) 64
[WC] C. Dolehide (USA) d [3] S. Hsieh (TPE) 76(5) 76(5)
V. Golubic (SUI) d [8] Y. Duan (CHN) 76(4) 63
[Q] S. Errani (ITA) d K. Ahn (USA) 64 60

Women’s Doubles
Quarterfinals
[2] B. Krejcikova (CZE) / V. Lapko (BLR) d A. Petkovic (GER) / F. Schiavone (ITA) 63 64
T. Townsend (USA) / Y. Wickmayer (BEL) d [4] Y. Duan (CHN) / Y. Wang (CHN) 64 67(5) 10-6
C. Dolehide (USA) / A. Riske (USA) d S. Chang (USA) / A. Mueller (USA) 61 61