AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2025

Danielle Collins

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/D. Aiava

7-6, 4-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Danielle, talk us through your thoughts on the match, how your opponent played, how pleased you are to get through to the third round.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I wasn't super surprised by how Destanee was playing. I remember seeing her a couple of years ago, always thinking that she would end up making a good run and having a great career.

Yeah, obviously very talented. Was doing a lot of things too well at times. So I just had to try to hang in there and do everything that I can.

Yeah, luckily I found some momentum there back in the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. We're obviously going to ask you about the interaction at the end with the crowd. How did you find the crowd during the match? Tell us about the reaction at the end.

DANIELLE COLLINS: 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.

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.

So I think it really helped me in the end. Just helped me concentrate more and challenged me at times. Just, yeah, pushed me kind of through the finish line.

I was really happy to, in the end when I finally got momentum, I'm like, Well, if 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.

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. Obviously my professional career is not going to last forever. So I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff, they're paying my bills. Every person that's bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it's all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund.

Yeah, bring it on. I love it.

Q. (Off microphone.)

DANIELLE COLLINS: Me and my group of girlfriends love a five-star vacation. I can guarantee you that check is going to go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to The Bahamas. We like big boats, we like big boats, we like yachts. We'll post about it, let you guys know how it goes.

Q. Why do you think the crowd turned against you to that extent in that match?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Oh, I mean, I think in a lot of places... I mean, look Destanee is from here. I think they really wanted for her to win badly. I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited. I think, too, they wanted to continue to see a good, long, hard match.

But yeah, I mean, look, I'm from a different country, here competing against someone that's from here. Ultimately it was a pretty cool environment I thought. Even though it was pretty rowdy, this girl loves it, so...

Q. Does it faze you at all being maybe even being the pantomime villain going forward? Seems like it doesn't bother you. Does it spur you on?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, all I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that doesn't - can I say it?

THE MODERATOR: Don't say it.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Seriously, good luck trying to get under the skin of somebody that really doesn't care.

Q. Can I ask you about the timing of the medical timeout with your foot. Didn't seem to be an issue in the final set. People on the outside might look at it and say the timing was to put Destanee off.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Of course, they're going to say that. It was very obvious I was struggling with getting my legs on my serve. I was missing a lot of serves. I was having to compensate quite a bit because every time I put my foot in flexion, I was kind of doing this weird thing with my back leg. I was missing a lot of serves because of it, honestly. I was also having a hard time kind of pushing out of the corners.

It kind of got to the point that I needed to have some aid with it, get some antiinflammatories. It flared up during Adelaide. Haven't had any pain with it since. All of a sudden I think just from all the pounding, especially on takeoff and trying to put it in flexion, everything you do when you're walking, you're putting your foot in flexion. I needed to have some assistance on it. It just was progressively kind of getting worse. I just really needed it.

Yeah, I try to only use them the medical timeouts when I am in pain. I don't need to play head games with the level that I play at.

Yeah, I felt like it did help me in the end because I did start serving quite a bit better after that. I feel like I kind of adjusted and started going back to what I do with my feet on my serve a little bit better and got some momentum on the serve.

I was pushing out of the corners and running down a few more balls there in the end, so it was helpful. So yeah, part of the game.

Q. One more on it. What is the specific injury? It's your foot?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, it's like underneath my big toe on the circle. I don't know what that muscle is called. It's like when you're in flexion. I don't know. I'd have to show you. I don't think anyone wants to see my feet right now.

Q. Australian Open announced a few minutes ago it set a new attendance record today. Kia Arena is a relatively new arena, new atmosphere. What is your general feel about the tournament as it is, particularly the level of crowds?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, I feel like you could definitely see today just looking around the grounds that there were a lot of people here, more tennis fans coming out to support.

I think Australia specifically has a huge tennis fan base. We see a lot of crowds each year. I definitely noticed today just observing from the dining area of everybody walking around. It seems like there were more people than ever before.

Yeah, it's super great for the sport. Obviously this is so important for all of us. It's a big part of why we're able to get to be professional tennis players and do this for a living.

Q. You are playing Madison now. Very familiar to you. Your thoughts on that? Do you feel like you're in a position where you can go deep again?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, we'll see. It's like sometimes comes down to the flip of a coin, right? Maddie has been playing some great tennis. She's been on a heck of a tear the last couple weeks.

It's crazy. We played so many matches against each other. The only thing I can really think about is the fact we were pen pals when we were 10 years old. Yeah, we go back really far, are good friends.

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.