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Match Details
Fixture: (29) Danielle Collins vs (Q) Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Date: May 8, 2025
Tournament: Italian Open
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Surface: Clay
Category: WTA 1000
Prize Money: €6,009,593
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Danielle Collins vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse preview
After a first-round bye, 29th seed Danielle Collins will face qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round of the Italian Open 2025.
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Collins reached the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of the Miami Open, losing to eventual champions Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka, respectively. She was the defending champion in Miami.
Collins began her time on clay at the Charleston Open, where she was the defending champion. Her title defense concluded with a quarterfinal loss to Jessica Pegula. This will be her first match since then.
Meanwhile, Ruse commenced her journey at the Italian Open with wins over Solana Sierra and Laura Siegemund to book her place in the main draw. She was up against Polina Kudermetova in the first round. The Romanian rallied from a break down twice in the opening set and even saved three set points to force a tie-break.
Ruse fended off two more set points in the tie-break and held three set points of her own, which she fumbled. She eventually conceded the set on her sixth set point. She initially squandered her break advantage in the second set but regrouped with another break of serve to take the set.
The Romanian struck first in the third set, but Kudermetova broke back to remain hot on her tail. Ruse ran away with the match in the end, sweeping the last four games of the match to score a 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-2 comeback win.
Danielle Collins vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse head-to-head
Their rivalry is currently tied at 1-1. Collins won their previous encounter at the Palermo Open 2021 in straight sets.
Danielle Collins vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Danielle Collins vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse prediction
Collins isn't the same player that she was last year. She arrived at last year's Italian Open with two titles under her belt and a 28-8 record. She has a 7-5 record heading into Rome this year, and only one of those wins has come against a top 50 player.
Ruse's tough first-round win over Kudermetova improved her record for the season to 7-5. She will now aim to reach the third round here for the first time. Collins, meanwhile, was a semifinalist at last year's Italian Open.
Both of their previous matches were also on clay, almost four years ago. Ruse won their first meeting in Hamburg in three sets. Collins avenged that loss a couple of weeks later in the Palermo final.
Collins hasn't been at her best this year. Furthermore, this will be her first match in a while. Ruse is used to the conditions here, having contested three matches thus far, starting from the qualifying rounds. The Romanian could use that to her advantage to one-up her older rival.
Pick: Elena-Gabriela Ruse to win in three sets.
