Another match, another bout of intense booing from the Australian Open crowd.
Danielle Collins was the latest tennis star to face boos in Melbourne, with the American giving it back to the hostile crowd in her post-match reaction following a 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2 victory over Destanee Aiava in the second round.
Following Jack Draper‘s own battle with the boos after he beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round, Collins was less composed in the way she handled the febrile atmosphere.
Like Draper, the American played a home hopeful with the 31-year-old facing Aussie rising star Aiava.
The crowd were one-sided from the beginning and Collins was forced into a fight on Kia Arena.
The 10th seed suffered a toe injury and dropped the second set to Aivaa which drew a raucous reaction from the home crowd.
Collins went on to fight back and win the third set, securing a hard-fought victory in two hours and 25 minutes.
The American, who was a beaten finalist to Ash Barty in 2022, goaded the Australian crowd after match point and let out all her emotions following the win.
Boos rang out across Melbourne Park, with the 31-year-old taunting and blowing kisses before gesturing to the crowd that they should kiss her backside.
Following the match, Collins carried on with her feud, claiming she loved them in a sarcastic remark about what she intends to spend her earnings on.
By reaching the third round, she has already secured herself a huge chunk of prize money, $180,000, and she was sure to mention it post-match.
“I was thinking during the match, ‘if I’m out here I might as well take that big fat pay cheque,” Collins said in her on-court interview.
She then admitted she intends to spend the winnings on a ‘good five-star vacation’ with fellow American star Coco Gauff, who is also into the third round Down Under.
“Coco [Gauff] and I, we love a good five-star vacation. So part of that cheque is going to go towards that — so, thank you, guys.”
In her post-match press conference, the 31-year-old persisted with her war of words with the crowd.
“Every person that bought a ticket to come heckle me, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it on,” Collins said.
Her jibes to the crowd continued: “One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is that the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills.
“My professional career is not going to last forever so I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff [negative crowd reactions] they’re paying my bills.
Earlier in the match, the American yelled at the crowd to “shut up” after they jeered following a fault.
Collins will now play fellow countrywoman Madison Keys in an all-American battle in the third round.
The heated moment with the crowd follows other matches where the Australian fans in attendance have backed their countrymen to the point where they boo the opponent.
23-year-old Draper experienced something similar when 10,000 Australians booed the Brit from the moment he stepped on-court against Kokkinkais.
He said after winning the game: “This is what I play for since I was a young guy.
“I wanted to play in front of big crowds and whether you guys are with me or against me it was a tough atmosphere to deal with.
“You guys [the booing crowd] were obviously all with Thanasi but I had a little fun as well.
“It was so good to be out here and really happy with the amount of support we get here at these big tournaments, it’s unbelievable.”