Feisty American tennis star Danielle Collins has doubled down on her mocking of rowdy Australian fans, telling them they will help fund her next “five-star” holiday to the Bahamas.
Collins embraced the role of pantomime villain during and particularly after her 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-2 defeat of Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava on Kia Arena on Thursday night.
Collins celebrated her victory by cupping her ear to the pro-Aiava crowd and repeatedly saying, “How about that?” before playfully slapping her backside as she walked to her chair.
That followed her telling fans to “shut up” in the opening game of the second set after they yelled out between her first and second serves.
The Kia Arena crowd showered Collins with boos – stopping only to cheer Aiava as she walked from the court – prompting Collins to grab the microphone in her post-match interview.
“I was thinking during the match, if I’m out here, I might as well take that big fat pay cheque and go on a holiday,” Collins said.
“Coco [Vandeweghe] and I love taking a holiday. Part of that cheque is going to go to that.”
Collins continued that theme when she spoke to reporters afterwards, adding that she loved playing in front of a crowd with “energy”, even when they were against her.
“It kind of just motivates me even more, so it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well,” she said.
“So, I think it really helped me in the end [to] concentrate more and challenged me at times [and] pushed me kind of through the finish line.
“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.
“Obviously, my professional career is not going to last forever, so I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff, they’re paying my bills … it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund.”
Collins, who has earned more than $US9 million (about $14.5 million) in career prizemoney, said “a lot” of the fans at her match were “super drunk” and “pretty rowdy”, but she still enjoyed the atmosphere.
Aiava, who qualified for the main draw then won her maiden grand slam match against Greet Minnen on Monday night, was also a fan of the “really loud” crowd.
Danielle Collins sent a message to the crowd after her win.Credit: Nine
“It was really fun. It kind of sounded like a rugby league match,” Aiava said. “But it was very different. I think we could use a little bit more of that in tennis.”
Play was halted for nine minutes late in the second set after Collins called for a medical timeout while trailing 5-2.
But the world No.11 defended the timing of the timeout for a foot problem that also impacted her in Adelaide, saying she did not “need to play head games with the level that I play at”.
“I felt like it did help me in the end because I did start serving quite a bit better after that,” Collins said.
Collins blows a kiss to the crowd.Credit: Getty Images
“I feel like I kind of adjusted and started going back to what I do with my feet on my serve a little bit better, and got some momentum on the serve. I was pushing out of the corners and running down a few more balls there in the end, so it was helpful.”
Both Collins and Aiava said medical timeouts were part of the game, but the Australian said she could have handled the situation better after conceding serve immediately afterwards.
One person who did receive praise from Collins was Aiava, whom she remembered first watching a few years ago and thinking she would have “a great career”.
“[Aiava is] obviously very talented and was doing a lot of things too well at times, so I just had to try to hang in there and do everything that I can,” Collins said.
Destanee Aiava fought hard in her match against Collins.Credit: AP
Aiava was pleased with her performance across the past week, including against a player in Collins who lost the 2022 Australian Open final to Ash Barty and sits just outside the top 10.
“I think I showed myself this week that I do belong here,” Aiava said.
“I’ve known it for quite a while, but actually putting it into action and doing it is completely different. I think I did that this week.
“Hopefully, the rest of the year goes similar. If not, that’s OK, too. At least I’ve had a really good week here. That’s all that matters.”
Aiava said Collins’ experience may have been a factor in the end result, but that it was “another learning curve” and she would not look back negatively on her defeat.
She received a career-best $200,000 payday for making the second round and has women’s and mixed doubles to come.
Aiava plans to reassess her schedule after her successful week, but said she would be able to bring her fiance Corey Gaal on the road with her at times.
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