MELBOURNE: World No 1 Iga Swiatek battled back from two breaks down in the final set to beat Danielle Collins 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 today and reach the third round of the Australian Open for the fifth successive year.
Collins might be ranked 62nd in the world but has a good record at Melbourne Park and beat Swiatek in the semifinals two years ago before going on to lose to Ash Barty in the title decider.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has an excellent record against lower-ranked players but had to dig deep into her reserves to overcome Collins in a scrappy three-hour contest on Rod Laver Arena.
The 30-year-old Collins faltered in her serve at key moments in the match and Swiatek found her best tennis late in the decisive set to move onto a third-round clash with Czech Linda Noskova.