Danielle Collins keeps on winning even with retirement looming. She's in the Italian Open semifinals

ROME (AP) — Danielle Collins has been nearly unbeatable lately. Even with her announced retirement looming.

The 15th-ranked American beat former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the Italian Open semifinals and extend her record to 19-1 since early March.

Having won back-to-back titles in Miami and Charleston, South Carolina, recently, she hasn't dropped a set on Rome's red clay.

Collins underwent surgery in 2021 to treat endometriosis and has said she wants to have a child — which is why she plans to retire at the end of the year.

“A lot of it has to do with my health,” Collins said. “Everybody has different ways of ending their professional journey. I want to go out playing my best tennis.”

Collins frustrated Azarenka with her aggressive baseline play and even took out her aggression on a TV cameraman at one point, telling him after being approached on a changeover, “Hey dude, you’re going to have to back up a little bit.”

Late in the second set, Azarenka slammed her racket on the Campo Centrale as her unforced errors piled up. Then Collins slammed her racket, too, after wasting a series of break points. But Collins came up with some clutch serving to finish Azarenka off — finishing with six aces to Azarenka's none.

“I feel dialed in with my shots and I’ve gotten better at hitting those small parts of the court,” Collins said.

Collins' semifinal opponent will be Aryna Sabalenka, who showed no ill-effects from her previous marathon match as she eased past Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, 6-2, 6-4.

Sabalenka's win over Collins in the fourth round of the the Madrid Open marked the American's only loss since a defeat to top-ranked Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells on March 8.

All three top-ranked women have reached the final four in Rome as the other semifinal pits Swiatek against No. 3 Coco Gauff.

In men's action, 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile extended his surprising run by beating Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-4 to follow up his upset victories over Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the previous two rounds.

Tabilo, who hasn't dropped a set during his first appearance in Rome, served an ace down the T on his first match point.

In his first Masters series semifinal, Tabilo will face 2017 champion Alexander Zverev, who beat 11th-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3.

Zverev lost his footing on a service return early in the match, fell to the clay and bloodied his hands and arms. It appeared his left hand got the worst of it but after receiving medical attention he continued playing. He won the point when he got injured.

“My finger is crooked. ... It’s starting to be a bit blue,” Zverev said of his left pinkie, adding that he wasn’t sure if it was broken or not. “I felt pain, but, probably not to the extent that we’ll feel it tomorrow.”

Zverev plays right-handed but uses a two-handed backhand.

The other quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Thursday. Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Nicolas Jarry — another Chilean — and Hubert Hurkacz plays Tommy Paul.

Collins, who reached the Australian Open final in 2022, said she’s playing the best tennis of her career.

“It’s been nice to have a stretch where I’ve really been kind of climbing, because, it’s not always like that,” Collins said. “You have to be really happy for yourself in these moments because it doesn’t always work out that way.”

Sabalenka, who didn’t allow the ninth-seeded Ostapenko a break opportunity, showed no sign of the back problem that required treatment during Monday’s three-setter against Elina Svitolina that ended well after midnight local time.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka said she didn't even practice on Tuesday and focused instead on treatment and recovery. And that clearly paid off.

“I would definitely say that it was the best performance of the tournament," Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy that I was able to play without pain today and hopefully with every day I will feel better and better, and I will recover as good as I can for the next match.”

Rome is the last big warmup tournament on clay before the French Open starts in 11 days.

AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar in Milan contributed to this report.

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

Germany's Alexander Zverev pauses after falling during his match against Taylor Fritz of the United States at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Germany's Alexander Zverev is helped after falling during his match against Taylor Fritz of the United States at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Danielle Collins of the US leaves the court after beating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Danielle Collins of the US leaves the court after beating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Victoria Azarenka reacts after losing a point during her match against Danielle Collins of the US at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

China's Zhang Zhizhen returns the ball to Chile's Alejandro Tabilo during the quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Chile's Alejandro Tabilo returns the ball to China's Zhang Zhizhen during the quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Chile's Alejandro Tabilo celebrates after defeating China's Zhang Zhizhen in the quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia gestures during a women's quarterfinal match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after defeating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the women's quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia return a shot against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after defeating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the women's quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Victoria Azarenka in action during her match against Danielle Collins of the US at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Danielle Collins of the US in action during her match against Victoria Azarenka at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

Danielle Collins of the US reacts after winning a point during her match against Victoria Azarenka at the Italian Open tennis tournament at Rome's Foro Italico, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonietta Baldassarre)

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his NATO counterparts meet in Turkey on Thursday to prepare a pivotal summit of alliance leaders next month that will set the course for future European security as America focuses on challenges elsewhere.

The meeting in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya comes amid a flurry of negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, including talks in Istanbul that Rubio and President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff plan to attend Friday. Rubio and Witkoff are coming to Turkey after accompanying Trump on portions of his trip to Gulf Arab countries.

On the sidelines of the NATO meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met Wednesday with Rubio, who also is having separate talks with new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan of Turkey, whose country is trying to help broker a deal that might end the more than three-year-old war.

Sybiha and Fidan on Wednesday discussed efforts to establish a ceasefire and steps toward securing a lasting peace with Russia, according to the Turkish foreign ministry.

The same day that NATO foreign ministers gather, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. It's an open question whether Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate Thursday.

Trump teased a possible visit to Istanbul while flying from Saudi Arabia to Qatar on Wednesday, but there was no immediate indication that his travel plans would change.

“He’d like me to be there, and that’s a possibility,” Trump said, referring to Putin. “I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out.”

Zelenskyy has been pushing for direct talks with Russia but only if Putin attends. Putin, who has rebuffed previous such calls, has been coy and has not committed to a meeting.

The Kremlin on Wednesday said Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, will head the Russian delegation, which also will include Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Igor Kostyukov, chief of the General Staff’s main directorate. The list did not include Putin himself.

Zelenskyy also remains keen on Ukraine joining NATO, which Russia has adamantly rejected and Trump appears to have agreed with. So even with a Ukrainian presence in Antalya, it appeared unlikely there would be any decisions made about Ukraine's future, or lack thereof, in the military alliance.

Of greater concern to the U.S. is money, with the Trump administration saying it wants to hear how European members of NATO and Canada plan to boost their national defense investments to 5% of gross domestic product.

In 2023, as Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine entered its second year, NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on national defense budgets. So far, 22 of the 32 member countries have done so.

The leaders will set a new goal at a summit in The Hague on June 25. Trump insists that U.S. allies should commit to spending at least 5% to be ready to defend themselves, but that would require investment at an unprecedented scale.

Trump has cast doubt over whether the U.S. would defend allies that spend too little. The U.S. was projected to have spent 3.38% last year, NATO figures show, the only ally whose spending has dropped over the last decade. Asked last month whether the U.S. would match the 5% target, Rubio said, “Sure. We’re heading there now.”

“Make no mistake, this ministerial is going to be different,” U.S. envoy to NATO Matthew Whitaker said this week, adding that “5% is not just a number, it is a necessity for our security. The alliance is facing significant threats.”

He did not outline those threats. NATO leaders insisted at their summit last year that “Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security,” but some countries are uneasy about Trump reengaging with Putin.

Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister who is hosting the meeting, is expected to express Turkey’s commitment to strengthening NATO and call for the inclusion of NATO allies that aren’t European Union members — such as Turkey — into European security and defense initiatives, according to Turkish officials.

Fidan also would advocate a comprehensive, “360-degree security” approach focusing not only on ending the Russia-Ukraine war but also on stability in the Middle East and regions adjacent to NATO members, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the defense spending plan under consideration appears to be for all allies to aim for 3.5% of GDP on “hard military spending by 2032,” and an extra “1.5% related spending (on) infrastructure, cybersecurity and things like that. Also achievable by 2032,” according to the Dutch government.

While the two figures add up to 5%, factoring in infrastructure and cybersecurity would change the basis on which NATO traditionally calculates defense spending. The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance’s usual standards.

Whitaker, the U.S. NATO ambassador, appeared this week to confirm the plan, saying it “also includes things like mobility, necessary infrastructure, cybersecurity. It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers.”

It's difficult to see how many allies might reach even 3.5% of GDP. The meeting in Turkey may provide more clarity.

Cook reported from Brussels, and Fraser from Ankara, Turkey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press statement with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio departs a lunch between President Donald Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)