Danielle Collins almost retired at the end of last year but here she is safely into round three of the maiden Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open.
Collins has been made to work to reach this stage. She overcame Daria Snigur 7-6, 6-3 in the opening round and on Thursday overcame Australian player Destanee Aiava amid some fracas with the crowd.
Naturally, the Kia Arena were all rooting for the Australian player. There is nothing wrong that, of course, but Collins suggested that the audience went a little bit too far during the match.
Collins caused a stir with a medical time-out in the second set. Down a double break, the American chose to get treatment and it seemed to take the wind out of Aiava’s sails somewhat.
Destanee Aiava says what she thought of Danielle Collins taking time out
The fans certainly didn’t think Collins was showing the most gracious sportsmanship. They made their feelings felt throughout the match and the 31-year-old enjoyed rubbing their noses in it afterwards.
It’s fair to say that Collins is box office though. There is little when it comes to character in modern-day sport and one thing about Collins is that she’s never backwards in coming forwards with her opinions.
She said afterwards that the best thing about playing in Australia is that the people who hate her essentially pay her bills and naturally that also caused a bit of a stir with the crowd.
Aiava was quizzed on the time out. She stopped short of calling it unsporting behaviour from Collins and admitted she can only look at her own performance.
She said in her press conference: “Yeah, I have had it happen to me a couple of times. It’s part of the game. Yeah, I don’t really have much else to say other than maybe I could have handled it a bit better and come out firing quicker.
“But yeah, I did give her a little bit of time to settle down in that set. I’m just glad I could close it out how I did. Hopefully, I didn’t let the break get too much in my head.”
The 24-year-old was also asked about the crowd. Aiava has suggested that Collins was potentially crying over spilt milk given the drama at the end of the contest.
She said: “Yeah it was really loud again tonight. I feel like it was kind of equal. I heard a lot of her supporters. For me, as well. I just trie to use it again to my advantage.
“They were amazing. Even if I did hear them go for her, it was still a really great atmosphere.”
Danielle Collins record vs Madison Keys
Up next for Collins is an all-American contest against Keys and the pair have known each other for quite some time.
For Keys, fitness has plagued her recent career. A cruel hamstring injury robbed her at Wimbledon last year when she left the court in tears.
It would appear she’s fit and well right now, however, and she will be looking forward to testing herself against a resurgent Collins.
The pair have only played three times in the past with Keys actually holding a 2-1 advantage when it comes to the head-to-head.
Intriguingly the pair have never met before in a Grand Slam and it will be fascinating to see which American player prevails and reached the last 16.
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