Ostapenko through to Miami Open semis

Jelena Ostapenko has continued her resurgence, beating Elina Svitolina to reach the last four at the Miami Open.

Ostapenko arrived in Miami with a lean 4-7 record in 2018 but was back to her big-hitting best on Wednesday, striking 44 winners en route to a 7-6(3) 7-6(5) win.

Svitolina was the highest-ranked player left in the field but it was the fifth-ranked Ostapenko progressing; she’ll meet qualifier Danielle Collins in the semifinals, after Collins stunned Williams in straight sets.

Ostapenko took her record over Svitolina to 2-0, having beaten the Ukrainian in their first meeting in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

In a match of momentum swings, Ostapenko led 5-3 in the first set before being stretched to a tiebreak. And in the second, Sviotlina built a 3-1 lead before Ostapenko reeled her in.

“It was an incredibly tough match today and I’m really happy with the way I played,” Ostapenko said.

“In the second-set tiebreak it was 6-3 then it was 6-5 and I don’t know what was going through my mind – I think I just really pushed the second serve and then I just hit another winner.

“I’m just really happy with the way it finished.”

On Wednesday evening, Collins won an all-American battle with Williams 6-2 6-3, becoming the first qualifier in Miami Open history to reach the last four.

The former collegiate player may have finished with only two more winners than Williams (18-16) but bullied the seven-time major champion about the court with her aggression and pace of shot, drawing a healthy dose of forced errors.

Coached by Pat Harrison – father of tour pros Ryan and Christian – and facing her long-time tennis idol, Collins was composed when stepping up to the line to serve for the biggest win of her life, and fired an unreturnable delivery to prevail.

Such a great performance from Danielle Collins to beat Venus. Clubbed backhands all day, moved great and got such great depth off both sides in defence.

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) March 29, 2018

“The first time I saw Venus in the locker room, I nearly cried. I mean, I’ve idolised her my whole life and she’s been my favourite player for forever,” Collins said.

“This is just such a special moment, I’m just trying to wrap my head around it.”

Collins has struck a rich vein of form in March, advancing to the fourth round at Indian Wells before this fortnight’s run in Miami.

Ranked 117th at the beginning of the match, the 24-year-old is projected to soar to No.53 after her latest victory – and even higher, should she upend Ostapenko.

“I think it just takes a lot of years of hard work and you have to really go through a process,” she said. “I’m just starting to finally put all of the pieces together.”

Collins and Ostapenko have played once before – seven years ago at the 2011 Eddie Herr junior tournament, when Ostapenko was just 14. Collins, a month out from her 18th birthday, won the match in three sets.

Collins’ Sunshine Double:

Wildcard @BNPPARIBASOPEN:
d. Townsend
d. Keys
d. Zhuk
l. Suarez Navarro

Qualifier @MiamiOpen"
d. Smitkova
d. Cepelova
d. Begu
d. Vandeweghe
d. Vekic
d. Puig
d. Venus

Plays Ostapenko in the semifinals.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 29, 2018