Danielle Collins determines three set win against Jelena Ostapenko

Danielle Collins serves up during her third round match at the San Diego Open. 

Danielle Collins played through the pain to advance at the San Diego Open on Wednesday. Going the distance with Jelena Ostapenko, the American remained set on fighting off the pain to beat her opponent 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Court Two at the Barnes Tennis Center. It was a roller coaster match for the players, who saw the lead changes take place in the final two sets.

The Latvian appeared to be comfortable playing another roller-coaster match to a decider on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was forced to the distance against Ekaterina Alexandrova after letting go of marginal victories. It was the 17th match since May that Ostapenko has played, and one of two meetings against Collins went the distance. The Latvian won their second meeting in Abu Dhabi this season and would try to get a win as she did in the Miami 2018 semifinal.

Collins opened the scoring with a service hold, followed by one from Ostapenko where she aced it to close the second game. A double fault from the American handed the early break to the Latvian, who remained in control of the serve to back it up. Collins sat a game down, but after serving, failed to chase the break in the sixth. The Latvian stepped it up in the sixth and tried to go for a bigger gap against the American.

A third double fault came from the serve of Collins, giving the 26-year-old the double break. With the 5-2 lead, Ostapenko ran away with the set to complete a strong run of service games. It was a 26-minute success for Ostapenko, who won 90 percent from the first serve and 70 percent from the second.

She continued her hot streak and broke Collins for the third time in the match. She fell behind slightly in the second but dug in to hold off the American on serve. The third game saw the two get into a contest for the AD point, which Collins wanted to hang on to. After three breaks, the American clinched the service game and then ran into trouble physically. She called for the trainer after breaking Ostapenko to level the score.

The Latvian broke Collins to love in the fifth and went to her coach for strategy advice while the trainer checked out the American’s lower back issue. She left the court to receive medical treatment, leaving Ostapenko to hit balls around to stay warm. The match continued after ten minutes, with the 26-year-old serving for the sixth. She fell behind to hand the break to Collins and soon sat a game down after seven.

The match got turned on its head when the American achieved the double break of Ostapenko, who faced a looming decider. Just when it looked like Collins had the match tied, she committed a sixth double fault to get the Latvian to deuce. Despite back-to-back double faults, the 29-year-old made good on her third set point attempt to take the set in 45 minutes. It was the tenth time in 11 matches that Ostapenko had to play, blowing the second set with late errors.

Collins took a medical time-out during the changeover and came into the first, breaking Ostapenko for her fifth game-winner in a row. The 26-year-old wasn’t able to bring the same heat, blowing a break to love chance and fighting to get on the board. She gained confidence with a serve to love in the third, leading 2-1 as Collins struggled with the injury. During the changeover, she refused to sit down to remain standing and prevent a drop in her performance. Collins let her service fall apart on double faults, giving the 26-year-old a step up. She committed a double fault in the fifth and struggled with the serve to suffer a break to love.

Ostapenko questioned calls during the sixth game on two occasions, believing that she was close. Her returns were nowhere near the lines, allowing Collins to hold serve for the three-all score. Collins took the next two games, causing a cheer from the crowd and screams of frustration by the Latvian. Collins continued to stand through it all, playing for her shot at the match, only to be shut out in the ninth.

It was all on the 29-year-old to do it on serve and did so on beautiful winners. Ostapenko drew a return into the net, giving Collins match point. On the second serve, the 26-year-old returned the ball long, ending the match in 1 hour and 53 minutes.