Melbourne (AFP) – Danielle Collins said she was proud of herself and did not care what people thought after being booed in and out of the arena in losing 6-4, 6-4 to fellow American Madison Keys at the Australian Open on Saturday. The 31-year-old Collins became the pantomime villain of Melbourne Park on Thursday when she sarcastically thanked hecklers for “paying my bills” after she defeated home hope Destanee Aiava in the second round. She also blew kisses to the fiercely partisan crowd, cupped her ear and even pointed to her backside.
Collins smiled as she faced a smattering of boos when she walked out at Rod Laver Arena, centre court, for the third-round meeting with Keys, the 19th seed. Cheers went up when 10th-seeded Collins made her first double fault. At the end of the first set, the chair umpire reminded fans to respect both players. Collins required a medical timeout at 4-3 down in the second set and had heavy strapping applied to her left knee. A half-empty stadium was mostly cheering for both players by the end, although more boos accompanied Collins out of the stadium.
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The beaten 2022 finalist said afterwards: “Something I’m really proud of myself is I just have gotten to the point where I really don’t care anymore about what people who aren’t important to me think.” She doubled down on her stance that all publicity is good publicity. “Obviously I’m towards the end of my career. It’s wonderful that I can capitalise on these opportunities,” she said. “I think that six different sponsorship opportunities come up this tournament alone. That’s a great signal for me. Obviously, like I said, every fan contributes to that. It’s a real blessing.”
Collins baited her detractors on Thursday by saying that the prize money she received in Melbourne would go towards a “five-star trip” with friends to the Bahamas. Asked after losing on Saturday if she had booked the holiday, she told reporters: “I got to fit that in there for a few days. Yeah, we’ll see what happens. I’ll keep you guys updated for sure. I will definitely send pictures to everyone.”
© 2024 AFP
