By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Danielle Collins gave the hostile crowd a roasting after beating local favourite Destanee Aiava in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, blowing kisses at the booing fans and thanking them for paying for her next five-star vacation.
The 10th-seeded American said her interaction with the local fans on Kia Arena had fired her up as she came through a tricky period in the middle of the match to see off the 195th-ranked Australian 7-6(4) 4-6 6-2.
“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.
The 31-year-old, who lost the 2022 Australian Open final to local Ash Barty, said she had actually enjoyed the sometime febrile atmosphere created by the 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.”
‘COOL CONCEPT’
Collins will pocket A$290,000 ($179,800.00) for reaching the third round of the Grand Slam and said she knew exactly what she would be spending it on.
“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.”
The victory set up a third-round date with 19th-seeded compatriot Madison Keys, who Collins has known since they were 10-year-old penpals.
“We go back really far, are good friends,” she said. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, pretty full-circle moment to go from 10-and-unders and 12-and-unders to playing on one of the biggest stages in the world.”
($1 = 1.6129 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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