The American Danielle Collins largely upset the audience at the Australian Open, who had themselves mishandled her during her match against the Australian Destanee Aiava. After winning in three sets, she turned to them with a kiss and thanked her “haters” for “the big check” she was going to take by passing this round.
In Melbourne, Danielle Collins was heavily booed after beating in three sets (7-6 4-6 6-2) the Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava – the last local player still in the running – to reach the third round of the Open. Australia. Nothing to scare the number 10 seed, who took advantage of this hostile atmosphere to relax, putting his hand to his ear after winning the match point or distributing a few kisses towards the public.
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Danielle Collins didn’t stop there and took the mic, while being booed during her post-match interview, to tell the crowd that she had just gotten a “big check” thanks to this additional round passed in the Australian competition: “CoCo [Vandeweghe] and I love five-star vacations, so part of this check will go toward that. So thank you guys!”
“If I’m going to keep supporting these people, I might as well take the bigger check.”
During her post-match press conference, she delivered another message to her detractors, thanking the audience for contributing to the “Danielle Collins Fund.” “I loved it,” she said. “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I love playing in front of a crowd that has energy, no matter what side they’re on. It motivates me even more.”
-“I think it really helped me in the end, it helped me focus more and it challenged me at times, it pushed me to the finish line. I have to stay here for two and a half hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the biggest check, right? I was very happy to do it,” she quips again.
“They’re the ones who pay my bills.”
“One of the coolest things about being a professional athlete is that the people who don’t like you and the people who hate you are the ones who pay your bills. It’s a pretty cool concept . It’s obvious that my professional career won’t last forever. That’s why I remind myself every day that they’re the ones paying my bills.”
“Every person who bought a ticket to come here and heckle me or do whatever they do, it all goes to the Danielle Collins Fund,” she concludes with a smile. Collins, 31, a former Australian Open finalist, is known for not holding back her emotions on court and speaking her mind.
