AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2022

Danielle Collins

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/E. Mertens

4-6, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Well done today. Just talk us through your thoughts on the match and how thrilled you are to reach the quarterfinals here again at the Australian Open.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, super excited. You know, the last couple years after I made semis I think I lost like second round each year, so to be back in the quarters means a lot. It's taken a lot to get to the quarters, some really tough battles and tough opponents.

Yeah, lucky to be through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. A lot of very fit players have been struggling in the conditions today. You've played three sets of singles, you have played doubles as well. How do you feel?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, right now I feel pretty good. I just had an ice bath, so usually I feel pretty good after that. At the moment, you know, looking forward to getting dinner and getting some recovery tomorrow.

Yeah, just trying to come out and be ready for Wednesday and take care of the body as much as I need to.

Q. After the endo that you fixed last year, has that improved the amount of training and preparation you're able to do in offseason and stuff like that?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, for sure. I feel like before when I was, before my surgery and before I was on the proper medication, I was always having to adjust my training around my cycle, because of how painful my periods were. And now with things being more consistent, I'm able to kind of train more consistently and not have to have, you know, such drastic changes, especially the week of my cycle.

So it's just been a lot more consistency throughout the year with just being able to get through workouts, be able to get through training sessions, and to not, you know, be dealing with the injuries that I was dealing with partly because of the endo.

Q. I remember last year in Australia you struggled with injuries and I think you didn't know at the time what it was. Curious just what that experience was like and how satisfying is it to come back kind of after all this happened since and be playing your best tennis here?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, super satisfying and rewarding, because I think any time you're going to have a surgery like I had, I think any athlete would find it less than ideal and nerve-racking knowing how your body is going to recover after that type of surgery. It's extremely painful and scary, because there is a lot of important things in life that you learn about during those surgeries.

Yeah, I'm just very relieved that the surgery went well for me, and that now I'm able to perform more consistently from a physical standpoint. I think that's helped me a lot mentally, knowing that. It's given me a lot more confidence on court. I just feel, as a person, more consistent on a day-to-day basis, because I'm not having such terrible fluctuations and such, you know, painful, really just awful days around those periods.

So yeah, it's been really, really rewarding, especially last year after winning my first two tournaments and knowing that I'd be able to get through that many matches back to back and be able to consistently perform at that level.

Q. Alize Cornet just described you as like a lion on the court. She said: I'm intense but Danielle is next level. Do you take that as a compliment?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think certainly I think we are both competitors, and I think that all of us can appreciate each other's toughness and tenacity and what we do. I think we understand each other best, all the players on tour, because we know what everyone is going through, and we all share so many of the same experiences.

So, yeah, that was very nice of her to say.

Q. I was just going to ask, going back to the surgery, when you made the decision to have that surgery, did you have to come to terms with the worst-case scenario? Were there times you thought you might not be back at events like this?

DANIELLE COLLINS: You know, I figured that I would probably be able to get back to playing at a high level, just wasn't sure exactly what that timeline would be like.

You know, I played the French Open, I think that was seven weeks after surgery, I came back a little bit too soon and tore my abdomen, one of the areas where they went in for surgery, and then I had to take some time off before Wimbledon. I was lucky to play Wimbledon. It wasn't the best preparation going into it.

So there was a lot of little bumps after the surgery coming back, because trying to strengthen that area back up and go through the physical rehab, and then being able to get used to the matches and being able to trust it too. That was probably the biggest, you know, hurdle that I had to go through last year.

Q. Periods, cycles, hormones, all of that, it's not something that's talked about very much, we don't hear those words much in here. Have you had words of support from other players behind the scenes in the locker rooms?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I really have. You know, I had so many other players reach out to me before I had the surgery, during, after. And, you know, I think that's one of the nice things about this sport is I think everyone is very competitive, but I think at the end of the day, I think most of the girls get along with each other really well and are really supportive and very good people.

Q. What was it like last year traveling without a coach and how you kind of handled that situation?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think especially after having the surgery and then kind of being on my own pretty much the entirety of 2021, you know, kind of added another element in just trying to figure out what works best for me.

You know, I think with individual sport, and tennis specifically, I think that everybody has different things that work for them, and what I do might not work for other people and what other people might do doesn't always work for me.

I've had to really take a lot of time to figure out, you know, what's the ideal situation for me traveling? I'm still trying to figure that out. It was really rewarding to be able to win those tournaments on my own and to know that I could be that independent and problem-solve and think for myself. You know, really just figure it out.

Q. What are your thoughts on what Cornet has accomplished and her persistence through these years and her story in general?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think she's an incredible player and person for our sport. I think her hard work and tenacity really comes out every time she plays and steps on the court.

She's always someone that's very fun to watch, someone that's very pleasant to see on a day-to-day basis and passing in the locker room. Yeah, I appreciate her a lot.

Q. Going back to the first match against Mertens, obviously you had that great win over Tauson and now this one. Can you talk a little bit about just kind of managing that match and the ups and downs of it, especially with the conditions of kind of getting over the finish line at the end.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, you know, I think to do well in these events, you kind of have to ride out the storm. I think you have moments where you're playing some of your best tennis. Sometimes you lose your rhythm. Sometimes you're dealing with some little pestering aches and pains. Sometimes you're dealing with physical conditions, with weather. There's so many different elements.

You know, I try to just, try to ride it out as much as possible. I love watching professional surfing, and I really admire what they do, how they get up on the board, how they deal with all the elements, so I use that as an analogy in my head a lot.

Q. Of just kind of surfing the wave or waiting for the wave?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, riding out the waves. There's certainly nothing more fitting, being in Australia here (smiling).