Player forgets how scoring works in tennis

Australian Open star Danielle Collins was left red-faced after celebrating too early during her match against Karolina Muchova.

Collins, who finished runner-up Down Under 12 months ago, had it all to do after going a set down against her Czech opponent. But she rallied and took the second set before forcing a tiebreak in the the third and final stanza.

In the majority of tennis competitions, the first player to reach seven by a margin of two points is usually the winner. However, that isn’t the case at the Australian Open, which requires tie breaks in the third set to go to ten points.

American ace Collins clearly forgot that tiny yet important rule differential and duly dropped her racquet to the floor and pointed to the sky in celebration after making it 7-3. Only seconds later did she realise it wasn’t the end of the contest.

“Collins thinks she’s won it,” remarked the TV commentator as the umpire reminded her of the situation: “Danielle! 10 points!” The world No11 looked dumbfounded as she went courtside to have the rule explained to her.

The bizarre situation clearly took a toll on Collins, who went on to lose three of the next four break points. Thankfully, though, she recovered her composure to record a 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(6) win.

“I was a little embarrassed,” Collins said after the match. “I guess I just never had to play a tiebreak in the third set of a Grand Slam before. – Daily Star.