"Elena Rybakina is not an easy person to break, she is a monster out there" - Danielle Collins on her tactics to beat Kazakh in Miami Open final

Danielle Collins recently talked about the tactics and strategies she implemented to secure a win over Elena Rybakina in the 2024 Miami Open final.

Unseeded Collins defeated Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 to claim the Miami Open title. It was Collins' third career WTA singles title, her first WTA 1000 title, and her first title win since 2021.

With the win, Danielle Collins became the sixth American woman to secure the Miami Open title, joining the likes of Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Sloane Stephens.

During the post-match interview with Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel, Collins commended Elena Rybakina's skills on the court, describing her as a tough opponent to break while also calling the World No. 4 a "monster" on the court.

"I mean, it’s really tough. Elena [Rybakina] is not an easy person to break. Those are some big serves coming in. She is a monster out there and it’s like that for everybody. And I had to be really patient with myself. I had to give myself targets. I had to have a plan," Collins said (at 2:57).

Collins also acknowledged that Rybakina pushed her to her limits, prompting her to strategize and execute her shots at a "high level" to ultimately secure the title

"Every time I walked up to that baseline, I can definitely say I showed up every single point, even the ones that she painted the lines and was going for it. I was really thinking about a lot tactically and technically, and it forced me to return at a high level, and I think that’s why I returned so well," she added.

Danielle Collins: "Elena Rybakina was hitting some incredible shots, she was backing me up"

Miami Open Presented by Itau 2024 - Day 15

In the aforementioned interview, Danielle Collins claimed that she had to maintain intense focus to return Elena Rybakina's serves.

She emphasized that facing Rybakina demanded a level of concentration that she had not previously experienced at the Miami 1000 tournament.

"I mean Elena’s got a really big game and I think it was all about serving and returning those first. Those first shots are the most important in any match, but especially when you’re playing against a big server and someone with great returns. So I had to be really on it and it required an amount of concentration that I have not been pushed to at this level at this tournament," Collins said (at 2:03).

Collins acknowledged that it was challenging and not an easy win playing against Elena Rybakina, a player who had several big accomplishments on the WTA Tour.

"Elena was hitting some incredible shots. She was backing me up. I had to do a good job of absorbing, getting down low, moving to the ball, and also trying to get a read on the serve as much as I could. But it’s tricky. I mean, she’s number three in the world, Wimbledon champion. She’s got a lot of accomplishments and there’s a reason for that. She is not an easy person to read with her shots, and it’s hard to anticipate where she’s going to go," she added.