Palermo, Italy, 24 July 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Top seed Danielle Collins has ended the winning run of Australian Astra Sharma at a WTA 250 clay-court tournament in Palermo.

The American scored a 6-1 6-4 in their quarterfinal today.

World No.44 Collins made a blistering start. She dominated on serve in the opening set, conceding only four points.

Sharma, the world No.121 contesting her fourth career WTA quarterfinal, snared an early break in the second set and built a 2-0 lead.

But the feisty Collins, an Australian Open semifinalist in 2019, fought back to win three consecutive games and regain the lead.

Sharma refused to give in, breaking Collins’ serve again in the sixth game to level. But halting Collins’ momentum proved too much of a challenge.

The No.1 seed broke Sharma’s serve in the ninth game with some exceptional returning, then served out victory after 72 minutes on court.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1418710952896208897?s=20

The positive news for Sharma is her ranking is projected to rise about 10 places following her performances this week.

Aussies in action – Palermo

RESULTS
Women’s singles, quarterfinals
[1] Danielle Collins (USA) d [7] Astra Sharma (AUS) 6-1 6-4