 "Danielle Collins' resilience against Destanee Aiava was overshadowed by the contentious crowd behavior. Image: Reuters")
USA’s Danielle Collins was in a mood to give it back to a hostile crowd at the Show Court Arena in Melbourne Park on Thursday as she progressed to the third round after beating local favourite Destanee Aiava.
After beating Aiava 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2 in a tricky match in which she was constantly riled up by the local fans, Collins was seen blowing kisses at the booing fans after her victory and thanked them for paying for her next five-star vacation.
“I think they really wanted for her to win badly,” Collins told reporters. “I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.
“All I have to say is good luck trying to get under the skin of somebody that really doesn’t care,” she added, after trading more diplomatic wording for a few profanities.
‘Love playing in a crowd that has energy’
Collins said that it was satisfactory to win in front of a partisan crowd.
“I loved it. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they’re on,” she said.
“I’m somebody, too, it kind of just motivates me even more. So it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well.
“I’m going to be out here for two-and-a-half hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well just take the bigger paycheck, right? I was super happy to do that.”
‘Haters will pay for my vacation’
The 31-year-old added that people who “hate” her would now be funding her next five-star vacation. Collins made $179,800 for reaching the third round at the Australian Open.
“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. It’s kind of a cool concept,” she added.
“Me and my group of girlfriends love a five-star-vation. I can guarantee you that check is going to go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to The Bahamas,” she said.
“We like big boats, we like big boats, we like yachts. We’ll post about it, let you guys know how it goes.”
She will be next facing 19th-seeded and fellow American Madison Keys.
Collins lost the 2022 Australian Open final to local Ash Barty.