"Danielle Collins has always been amazing" - Madison Keys warns tour against "more and more dangerous" fellow American at French Open

Madison Keys hailed her compatriot Danielle Collins during her post-match press conference after her first-round win against Renata Zarazua. The American easily ousted the Mexican 6-3, 6-2 in just an hour and 12 minutes.

As she spoke to the media, Keys was told by a reporter that she and Collins were absent from the top level for a long time, however, both women were 37-7 (combined) since the Miami Open and was asked if she was surprised.

The 29-year-old said that though the rise has been sudden, she always knew Collins was an amazing player. She also said now that the 30-year-old has finally found her footing and enjoying her game, her confidence has been building rapidly making her more and more dangerous.

"Umm yes and no. I think, I mean, Daniel's has always been amazing. I think she can play incredible tennis and I thought that from the moment she came onto the tour," Keys said.

"And I think when, I think there’s probably a reality of she's really enjoying herself out on the court right now and it's, you know, with more wins the confidence builds even more and more and I think that’s when Danielle gets more and more dangerous."

Speaking about her own game, Madison Keys said that post Indian Wells was a hard time to get back in the groove but gaining some momentum at the Madrid Open was a huge boost as from there on she found her footing and has been able to get some consistency.

"So uh, it's been really fun to watch her do that and I think on my side, obviously starting at Indian Wells, it's kind of a hard time of the season to try to jump back into things and have some tough losses, tough uh matchups, things like that."

"So being able to just kind of get some momentum in Madrid was really helpful and beneficial in just being able to win a couple of matches and it just seemed like from there everything just kind of became a little bit easier in a way just you know getting another match and another match and that's just really all you want when you feel like you're catching up with everyone else."

Madison Keys talks about what makes Danielle Collins a force on the court

Danielle Collins and Madison Keys

When asked what specific thing made Danielle Collins more dangerous, Madison Keys called her compatriot's backhand one of the best in the world

"I mean her backhand is incredible, umm, I think she has one of the best backhands in the world."

She then just talked about how tenacious Collins is and if you were not fully ready to face her, things could get troublesome as she had a strong personality.

And then I think just, I mean just her tenacity and her personality and I think if you're not ready for it, it can be incredibly intimidating and I think when she is playing well and she also has the personality that Danielle has, I think she just continues to pump herself up more and more and it's like you can almost see getting 10ft tall on the court."

Danielle Collins comfortably saw off Caroline Dolehide at the opening of the 2024 French Open and will meet Olga Danilovic next while Madison Keys will play Mayar Sherif in the second round.