Tennis-Park life the secret for Collins' rise to Open final

American Danielle Collins said she will treat Saturday's Australian Open final against home favourite Ash Barty like a match at her local park back home in Florida.

American Danielle Collins said she will treat Saturday's Australian Open final against home favourite Ash Barty like a match at her local park back home in Florida. The 28-year-old, who opted for the college tennis route into the professional game, produced a stunning display to crush Poland's Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-1 in Thursday's semi-final.

Collins barely put a foot wrong and said afterwards that the hours spent on park courts during the off-season help her thrive on the world's biggest stages. "In my off-season, that was what I was doing every day. I was playing at the public park close to my house, and most of the days I was on the court with my boyfriend and we were hitting on the ball machine," she told reporters.

"Playing on the public courts, that's something that I enjoy so much. Even when I'm here and playing in these stadiums, I think back to all the special moments that I have had there. "It's really like a Zen moment for me sometimes to think about playing in the park. I'm going to have to think about that a lot when I'm on court with Ash."

World number one Barty will be the strong favourite to become the first local to win the Australian Open for 44 years, but Collins says she will be well-prepared for the variety the top seed brings to the court. "I think over the course of my career I have done a pretty good job of practicing against people who have variety in their game," she said. "I try to play with people that throw different shots at me that maybe I don't get all the time.

"I played against a lot of people in the park that liked the slice backhand." So "in the zone" was Collins on Thursday that she did not sit down at changeovers and barely celebrated after reaching her first Grand Slam final.

She hopes she can reach the same mental space on Saturday. "I think for me when I have a really clear idea of my tactics and what I want to do, it's easier for me to get there," Collins said. "But then, you know, just like any other athlete and I think all of us on tour, you know, we have days where we try to get in the zone and we can't.

"Today it really worked in my favour, and I was able to get there. I'm hoping that I have many more matches like that in the future. But you also have to be realistic and realize that you're not going to play that way every single time."

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