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Miami Open champion Danielle Collins wins twice to reach Charleston quarterfinals

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Miami Open champion Danielle Collins wins twice to reach Charleston quarterfinals
Sport

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Miami Open champion Danielle Collins wins twice to reach Charleston quarterfinals

2024-04-05 08:17 Last Updated At:08:20

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Miami Open champion Danielle Collins continued an amazing run by winning two matches on Thursday, beating Ons Jabeur and Sloane Stephens to reach the quarterfinals of the rain-delayed Charleston Open.

Collins, who has said this will be her final season on tour, has won 10 straight matches and 20 of her past 21 sets.

Collins and defending champion Jabeur played the first match of the day at the clay-court event after rain Wednesday led to several matches being postponed.

None of it appeared to bother the 30-year-old Collins, who spent just over three hours on the court in the two matches combined.

She topped Jabeur 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in 2 hours, 3 minutes, then returned about five hours later to take out former U.S. Open champion Stephens 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 11 minutes. Stephens won the title at Charleston in 2016.

“I can't remember the last time I played five sets in a day,” Collins said. "It was probably like, the juniors and 12-and-unders.

“But the inclement weather, we had to adjust,” she continued, “and I think on these days, you have to be really flexible and versatile out there.”

Jabeur, ranked sixth, lost her opening match for a fourth consecutive tournament. Jabeur is 2-6 this season.

The 22nd-ranked Collins will face either Elina Svitolina or Elise Mertens on Friday for a spot in the semifinals.

Top-seeded Jessica Pegula also reached the final eight, beating Magda Linette 6-2, 6-2. The fifth-ranked Pegula will face Victoria Azarenka in the quarters.

“I think I served really smart and I was playing well in these conditions, which were really tricky,” Pegula said. “And luckily, I was able to play the controlled, aggressive mentality in the wind and I was kind of able to pressure her.”

Azarenka rallied to defeat Taylor Townsend 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

Veronika Kudermetova advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Collins lost her first set at Miami last month before winning the next 16 on the way to the championship.

She said Jabeur is a tricky player with a variety of shots that force her opponents to stay mentally ready.

“I have a little bit of experience with that, so I definitely knew how to handle it, and handled it the best as I could,” Collins said. “Then just stayed mentally resilient.”

Jabeur said she ran into a player on a big-time roll.

“It's tough to play players that have confidence and Danielle is playing really good,” Jabeur said.

Jaqueline Cristian, playing Charleston for the first time, defeated her second top-20 player this week. She followed a win over 18th-ranked Madison Keys by beating No. 20 Emma Navarro 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

Cristian led 5-4 in the second set before Navarro fought off two match points and took the set. The Romanian quickly shook it off.

“You're ready for it. You live in the present,” Cristian said. “You don't worry about what happened in the second set or the first, just the point itself.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Emma Navarro, left, of the United States, and Jaqueline Cristian, of Romania, shake hands after Cristian won their match at the Charleston Open tennis tournament Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Emma Navarro, left, of the United States, and Jaqueline Cristian, of Romania, shake hands after Cristian won their match at the Charleston Open tennis tournament Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Danielle Collins returns the ball in a match against Ons Jabeur at the Charleston Open tennis tournament Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Danielle Collins returns the ball in a match against Ons Jabeur at the Charleston Open tennis tournament Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A judge in Argentina was selected Monday to investigate allegations of fraud against President Javier Milei for his brief promotion of a cryptocurrency whose value collapsed within hours of its launch last week.

Milei and his office denied involvement with creators of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency, saying he initially drew attention to it Friday as an entrepreneurial project that might benefit Argentina but learned more about it later and then withdrew his support.

Lawyers in Argentina filed fraud complaints against the libertarian President on Sunday. The case was assigned Monday to Judge María Servini, head of Federal Court No. 1 in Buenos Aires. She doesn’t have a deadline to finish investigating the allegations.

In a tweet Friday evening that coincided with the launch of the $LIBRA crypto coin, Milei said that it was aimed at “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.”

It enjoyed a brief spike in value above $4 billion in market capitalization, although its value began to decline amid comments of critics that it could be a scam. Milei deleted the post a few hours later as the value of the cryptocurrency was collapsing in a downturn that caused millions of dollars in losses to many of its new investors.

The coin, developed by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, could be obtained by accessing a link that directed users to a website called vivalalibertadproject.com, referring to the well-known phrase “Viva la libertad!” that Milei uses to close speeches and messages on his social media.

The president's office said in a statement that Milei was not involved in any stage of the cryptocurrency’s development and decided to remove his post to avoid speculation and limit further exposure, following the public reaction to the project’s launch.

“The president shared a post on his personal accounts announcing the launch of KIP Protocol’s project, as he does daily with many entrepreneurs who wish to launch projects in Argentina to create jobs and attract investments,” the president's office said.

After deleting the post, Milei said on X he was unaware of the details of the cryptocurrency, and accused his political opponents of trying to exploit the episode.

“I was not aware of the details of the project, and after getting informed, I decided not to continue promoting it (which is why I deleted the tweet),” he said.

His office also said that the country's Anti-Corruption Office, which operates under the executive branch, would investigate the case.

Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, said Sunday that the plaintiffs allege that Milei's actions were part of an illicit association to commit “an indeterminate number of frauds” in the episode.

“Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential,” he said.

The national newspapers Clarin, right, and Pagin 12, left, are displayed for sale at a newsstand outside La Casa Rosada presidential office carrying headlines on a cryptocurrency scandal involving President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The national newspapers Clarin, right, and Pagin 12, left, are displayed for sale at a newsstand outside La Casa Rosada presidential office carrying headlines on a cryptocurrency scandal involving President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Photographed through a window, lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo poses for the portrait during an interview at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Photographed through a window, lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo poses for the portrait during an interview at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Juan Manuel Scala protests against Argentine President Javier Milei outside the Casa Rosada presidential office holding a poster that reads in Spanish "If it has four paws, moves its tail and barks, it's Milei lying," in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Juan Manuel Scala protests against Argentine President Javier Milei outside the Casa Rosada presidential office holding a poster that reads in Spanish "If it has four paws, moves its tail and barks, it's Milei lying," in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

FILE - Then presidential hopeful Javier Milei looks on during a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

FILE - Then presidential hopeful Javier Milei looks on during a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

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