American tennis star Danielle Collins decimated seventh seed Iga Swiatek  6-4, 6-1  in straight sets in the Australian Open semifinals as she progressed to feature in the finals to play against home favourite Ashleigh Barty.

The 28-year-old old was all about sheer power as she did not allow Swiatek to settle at all. It is something very common among American tennis players as Collins highlighted how Serena and Venus Williams have had a big impact on her game. She feels it surreal to play the finals or semifinals same as her heroes.

“Going back and being a young American was watching Venus and Serena play,” Collins said. “Those were my favorite matches. I was always looking forward to seeing what they were wearing on court. I would ask my parents to get up early in the morning to watch their night matches.”

Danielle Collins kept on highlighting how her initial days in tennis were very important as her father influence her to play the sport. She then also pointed out how important to play the finals is for her her. She till now has only seen her idols feature at such a big stage and now its her turn.

“To be playing on this stage where so many of my idols played, it’s almost surreal. This is just what we all, as kids, dream of doing. So it’s just such a special moment for me. I’m just trying to embrace all of it,” she added.

Collins was at a loss of words when he was asked about her feeling of reaching her maiden Grand Slam finals. She reminisced the huge marathon matches that she has had in the past in her career reaching this point.

“Feeling great. You know, it’s been an incredible journey this tournament. Having a lot of fun on court, a lot of tough opponents, battles out there. To be through to the final is really incredible. I think I’m at a loss for words right now,” the 27th seed said.

Lastly, she feels that there is a lot of depth in the Women’s Singles draw as many women tennis stars have won Grand Slams in recent years. Therefore she feels that there were many players in the recent past who were not expecting to win Grand Slams but have won the Grand Slams. So she will resort to trusting her instincts and playing his best tennis.

There have been so many women in the last couple of years who won Slams that were not expected to win Slams, and I think that gives hope to all of the players. I have used that mentality and just tried to do the best that I can. I have tried to believe in what I’m doing with how I’m playing,” Collins concluded.