The two played on clay courts of Rome where Muguruza handled the American in three sets. With some experience against the Spaniard, Collins had the opportunity to take her second set win from Rome and add more to the tone of upsetting the 11th seed. Her efforts needed plenty of gusto as Muguruza was on a tear through her second round, defeating Kristyna Pliskova. With her eyes set on returning to French Open glory, the 26-year-old knew that keeping Collins behind was a big element to her future success.
Muguruza got the jump on the American gaining two break points before she rallied to force deuce on serve. They played three breaks, where the Spaniard produced points each time to make the seal the break on Collins. They got three points in the second when rain forced play to be suspended. Tournament organizers chose to move the match to Phillippe Chatrier which was closed.
When play resumed, Muguruza stayed ahead in the second to maintain service and a 2-0 lead. A fight to make it three in a row was trounced by Collins who battled Muguruza back on serve. Needing time on deuce to get it done, the American denied her opponent an AD point break and locked it down on the second break. The Spaniard had problems with the first serve, handing Collins free points to even the score after four. She added a third straight win, gaining not only momentum but a focus to stay ahead of the 11th seed.
She remained that way into the ninth when a solid hold made it 5-4 with Muguruza fighting to extend the set or face a deficit. She pressed the set further with a serve to love in the tenth, showing Collins that she wasn’t going to let up. The American answered back with a stronghold in the eleventh and went for it against the struggling Spaniard. Having won the last five points, Collins took advantage of some errors in her opponent’s game and stole the break to win in 61 minutes. It was the 20th unforced error committed by the 11th seed who knew during the break that she had to do better.
A break to start the second set was a good statement from Muguruza who took the second to move around the court more. It earned her another 2-0 jump ahead of Collins who played the third like her life depended on it. The American played one break before smashing a winner across the court to hold serve. Going for the tie was another story as unforced errors crept into Collins’ game. Muguruza took advantage of those mistakes and blasted away at the American. It was quickly 4-1 for the 11th seed who wanted to keep her dictation going and force the match to the distance.
Getting to 5-1 became difficult as the American fought through every point to force deuce, but not the AD point which Muguruza locked down on. When it came for her to serve the seventh, Collins recorded her second shutout, keeping her alive in the set. Once the Spaniard was back on serve, the 26-year-old rolled to victory, taking 33 minutes to be back on top with her actions. Her serve at 78 percent produced 11 winners and only four unforced errors. Collins had nearly four times as many indicating that her trailing could get worse.
Another win for Muguruza to start the third had her winning seven of the last nine games played. She rolled along, taking advantage of a frustrated Collins, opening herself a 3-0 run. The American tried putting a stop to it after suffering a double break, pushing Muguruza to deuce. After six minutes of fighting through 13 points, Collins scores the break back to end her downfall. Despite committing her sixth double fault, the American added a second straight against Muguruza.
While it looked as if Collins had found ground to dig in, Muguruza took the shovel away denying her the break in the sixth. Collins went on to hold the seventh making her mission to play every single point as the finish line closed in. It worked out for Collins who fought on deuce to break Muguruza and consolidate it with a hold in the ninth. With a shot at pulling off the upset, Collins got the first point on a double fault from the 11th seed.
A battle at the net for the third point put Collins in front and another double fault from the Spaniard brought the American two match points. After putting together a great start, Collins got the job done as she watched Muguruza return a popped fly that fell wide of the line ending her tournament in 2 hours and 26 minutes.
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