How about that?! Danielle Collins has a back-and-forth with a booing Australian Open crowd

MELBOURNE, Australia -- MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Danielle Collins got into a back-and-forth with a booing crowd at the Australian Open after eliminating a local player on Thursday night, blowing kisses to the spectators and repeating the phrase, “How about that?!”

The 10th-seeded Collins, an American who was the runner-up to Australia's Ash Barty in the 2022 final, defeated Destanee Aiava 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2 across nearly 2 1/2 hours.

That's when the fun began. First, the 31-year-old Collins — who originally planned to retire after last season but decided to return to the tour in 2025 — held her hand to her left ear and, looking into the stands at Kia Arena, said that three-word phrase a couple of times. Then, as the jeers grew louder, she began blowing kisses toward the fans.

“The people that don't like you, and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. Obviously my professional career is not going to last forever,” Collins said at her news conference, noting that anyone who “bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me, it's all going toward the Danielle Collins Fund.”

She said she planned to spend some money on a “five-star vacation,” and mentioned that she and her friends “like boats; we like big boats; we like yachts.”

Earlier, when Collins began the customary post-match interview in the stadium, the noise from the seats kept coming and interrupted her first answer. So she paused and grinned, then said: “I was thinking during the match ... as long as I'm out here, I might as well take that big fat check.”

She added: “Thank you for coming out here and supporting us tonight.”

After speaking briefly about her next opponent — another American, No. 19 Madison Keys, who reached the final of the 2017 U.S. Open — Collins turned her attention back to the crowd and closed by saying, “Thanks, everyone. Thank you, guys. Love ya!”

Aiava is ranked only 195th and needed to go through qualifying rounds to earn a spot in the women's bracket. But she gave Collins a tough contest.

“I wasn't super surprised by how Destanee was playing,” Collins said. “I just had to ... do everything I can.”

Collins, who is from Florida and played college tennis at Virginia, famously got into a post-match spat with Iga Swiatek at the Paris Olympics last August.

As for the acrimony out there on court with the paying customers on Thursday, Collins said: “I loved it. I've been doing this my whole life. I love playing (in front of) a crowd that has energy, regardless of which side they're on. It kind of motivates me more.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis