Paris [France], June 5 (ANI): Tennis star Serena Williams feels this clay-court season has been 'stingy' so far for her and she is happy to get some wins at the ongoing French Open. Williams defeated Danielle Collins 6-4, 6-4 to qualify for the fourth round of the Roland Garros 2021.

In the press conference, Serena said: "My season on clay has been pretty stingy so far, I'm happy to get some wins. The atmosphere at Roland Garros in general always seems quite different, and I think this diversity helps me to play better."

"I knew going into the third, I just had to zero in on those important points. If I could just take those, it would be an easier time for me."

Talking about her opponent, Danielle Collins, she added: "I played her in Australia, actually. She plays well, especially when it's time to play, which is I guess all the time. She's also a really awesome person off the court."

"I love seeing her in the locker room. Ideally, it would be great if we didn't have to play each other because I always want her to do super well," Williams said.

Serena who is chasing her long-awaited and record-equalling 24th Slam will be appearing for the thirteen-time in the fourth round on the clay courts of Bois de Boulogne.

Collins said: "It's been really kind of shocking since surgery, I've just felt so much better, especially with my back pain. Like I'm not having any type of sciatic nerve pain, which I was dealing with for a couple of years.

"So now I'm just kind of relieved to just be feeling good consistently and not having to always track and be like: Oh, like is this going to be a bad week, do I have to kind of prepare my training around that or my tournaments around that?' It's just been a real weight that's been lifted off my shoulders since having the surgery because I kind of just in some ways got used to [the pain] and kind of thought that that was normal to be dealing with."

Serena will clash with Elena Rybakina for the place in the quarterfinals. Rybakina defeated Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-4 to set her clash with the American in the fourth round. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)