MELBOURNE: World number one Iga Swiatek battled back from two breaks down in the final set to beat Danielle Collins 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday 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 semi-finals two years ago before going on to lose to Ash Barty in the title-decider.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek has an excellent record against lower-ranked players but really had to dig deep into her reserves to overcome Collins in a dramatic but scrappy three-hour contest on Rod Laver Arena. (Reuters)
