Après avoir validé sa victoire contre la locale Destanee Aiava au deuxième tour de l'Open d'Australie, Danielle Collins n'avait pas manqué de provoquer et "troller" le public dès la fin du match, qui avait largement soutenu sa compatriote. Une célébration provocante, puis un discours encore plus expressif. Du grand "Danimal". Alors évidemment, pour son retour sur les courts ce samedi face à Madison Keys, pourtant pas Australienne, le public l'attendait avec impatience. Les sifflets sont descendus des tribunes à son entrée ainsi qu'à sa sortie du court suite à sa défaite.
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00:00Yeah, I mean, I actually thought I played pretty, pretty well at times. I think it just came down to the serving and the returning. It was almost like a men's match in a lot of ways. Like, you know, we were both having difficulty getting the point started when both of us were serving and not a lot of rhythm and then just comes down to the margins.
00:22I think there were a couple of times I missed by so little and Maddie made some shots by very little. And yeah, ultimately, Maddie just came up with some better shots in the bigger moments. And yeah, this is tennis.
00:36Yeah, go ahead.
00:37Daniel, can I ask about the crowd? It felt like they were really playing for you from the moment you stepped onto the arena.
00:42Yeah, I mean, I expected that, obviously. I mean, and that's fine. Like I said, I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments. That's what you work so hard for your entire life as a kid. So I embraced it. And yeah, I thought overall it was good and it got me fired up at times and it got us into the match and got both of us focused. So, yeah.
01:08How's the poster?
01:10I was going to ask how the last day or so has been because it's been, it feels like a whirlwind of attention on it.
01:16Yeah, I mean, obviously like I'm, you know, towards the end of my career and it's wonderful that I can capitalize on these opportunities. I think I've had six different sponsorships, opportunities come up this tournament alone. So that's a great signal for me. And obviously, like I said, you know, every fan contributes to that. And it's been, it's been a real blessing.
01:40All tricky in terms of trying to harness that energy and give back that you're playing against a close friend of Maddie's. Does that keep any lid on your sort of emotions at times when you're out there?
01:50What do you mean?
01:52I mean, like, would you at all be, were you more restrained because it's a good friend of yours across the net than you might otherwise be?
01:58I don't know. I mean, I feel like I approach the match very similar to how I played Destiny and the matches before. You know, I just go out and compete as hard as I can, even if I am playing my friend. And, you know, we're used to it at this point. So, yeah, I just always try to bring good energy. And, yeah, I don't know. I see what you're saying, though, for sure. Yeah.
02:23How is the knee?
02:25Yeah, I mean, look, like I this is my left knee. I've had a lot of issues with this knee, especially when I was in college. I had meniscus tear. I've had a meniscus tear on tour. I've had a cartilage tear. I've had countless issues with my knee. And I think it was the second or third point in that game at three all.
02:45And I went down to hit it and I hit my knee against the ground when I was trying to get low to the ball and it made a noise. And then all I didn't really think that much of it. But then my knee starts to turn purple. So I was like, oh, maybe I should try to get this wrapped before it gets to the point where it's like buckling. And so obviously, since it's a previous issue throughout my career, I just there's a little fear there for sure.
03:11Did you think about quitting the match?
03:13No, because the doctor said, like, it seems like it was just swelling from whatever movement I had done. And they had kind of checked the different range in motion and made sure that it wasn't something like I like a ACL tear. Like, we wouldn't know if I would have done something more serious to it, I think. But obviously, if I was to continue playing the match, I kind of need to get the swelling down. So.
03:36Danielle, some players like Medvedev, when they have a run in with the crowd, never, ever seem to shake it off. So they cop it year after year. Do you think you're doomed with the Aussie crowds or can you kiss and make up someday down the future?
03:50I mean, yeah, I guess that's up to them. Right. And I mean, at the end of the day, like whatever happens, happens. I mean, the biggest thing is that, you know, nobody got hurt. I mean, maybe some feelings got hurt or things were taken personally and they probably shouldn't have been taken personally by the crowd.
04:12But yeah, I just I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes. And I think in our sport, it's like somebody was telling me that the average age of people watching the fans of tennis is like 65.
04:32And I think, you know, we need to kind of bring some entertainment to the game. And I think we can try to make jokes and laugh. I don't have a big ego when it comes to this. Honestly, I don't care what's written about me. I don't care like what some guy living in his basement is like writing on the Internet. You know what I mean? Like I like I'm just trying to have fun.
04:55I'm just trying to like enjoy my life and have fun with it. And, you know, all my friends on tour thought I was you know, they knew I was just being me and being trying to make humor of the situation. And and then I had a lot of my friends be like, well, am I getting invited on the yacht?
05:13So, yeah, a lot of the girls on tour were like, well, you're inviting me. Right. So, yeah. So, I mean, that's all that matters. I mean, at the end of the day, you can't please everybody. And the most important thing is your friends and family and and what they think. And yeah. And nobody got hurt. You know, that's the main thing. This is sports. And I don't think the banner is necessarily a terrible thing. I mean, I don't know.
05:43I don't know.