Big Upsets of '18, No. 6: Venus falls in Miami to Collins

Enjoy a look back at the biggest upsets of the season, starting at No. 10 and counting all the way down to the top stunner of the year.

After going 0-for-Australia to start off the year, Venus Williams made her return to the court for the first round of Fed Cup. After winning two singles rubbers there, she ran her winning streak to six matches before she was stopped in the semifinals in Indian Wells.

Carrying her rediscovered form to the Miami Open, Williams emerged as one of the favorites for the title by advancing to the quarterfinals. There, she met Danielle Collins, an up-and-coming American who’d been on a strong run of her own: The 24-year-old won the $125,000 tournament in Newport Beach in January; advanced to the round of 16 in Indian Wells; and came through qualifying in Miami to make the quarters, with wins against four Top-100 players along the way.

From the start, Collins showed she wasn’t intimidated by the situation, as she broke Williams the first time she served. She’d add another break as she clinched the first set 6-2. The second was more of the same and Collins wrapped it up 6-3 for the biggest result of her young career.

Though she fell in the semifinals to Jelena Ostapenko, Collins proved that she belonged among the next wave of up-and-coming Americans.

Defeating one of the game’s all-time greats will do that.

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