Novak Djokovic Explains Why He 'Loved' Danielle Collins' Wild Australian Open Celebration
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Novak Djokovic has outlined his admiration for Danielle Collins' fiery reaction to the crowd after winning at the Australian Open. The Serbian also had heated moments with the fans in his last match.
Collins won a hard-fought battle against the home favorite Destanee Aiava in the second round. Last year's Miami Open champion dealt with sections of the crowd loudly cheering when she hit double faults or unforced errors.
After sealing a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory, Collins cupped her ears to the crowd and shouted, "Come on then!" at them. She showed respect to Aiava to the net, who was blameless for the fans' actions during the match but held nothing back to those who had disrespected her.
That reaction led to Collins being booed throughout her on-court interview after the victory. The 31-year-old responded by taking the microphone from the interviewer, thanking the fans for paying for her paycheck, and saying she would use it for a five-star vacation.
Collins did not stop there. In an interview with ESPN, she thanked Australia as a whole for the money before making it clear she did not care about how the crowd treated her when she spoke at a press conference.
Djokovic has had several interactions with fans over the years. The latest case was during his third-round triumph against Tomas Machac. He did not take kindly to some fans shouting out during rallies, distracting both players.
That incident might have influenced Djokovic's words about Collins' incident when asked about it in a press conference. The former ATP world No. 1 said he loved it, and it has made him an even bigger fan of hers.
"I loved her response. I loved it. Everything she said on the court, off the court, I loved it. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan. I loved it."
Djokovic also defended Collins from those who have criticized her since the incident. The ten-time Australian Open champion thinks she handled the incident really well, and he probably would not have been as polite as she was under the same circumstances.
"I've heard some comments from people that she shouldn't have said this or that. I think she handled it really well. I don't think I'd be that polite and I know exactly the feeling. I think she was funny, smart, just a big fan of what she did, big fan."
While Djokovic's career has been more successful than Collins', they share similarly fiery personalities. That means Djokovic is better placed than most to understand playing in front of a hostile home crowd.
The Australian fans did not forget Collins' actions in her next match at the tournament. She was greeted with a chorus of boos when walking onto the court to face her childhood friend Madison Keys, who received almost all the crowd support during the contest.
Collins lost 4-6, 4-6, to her fellow American. The 2022 Australian Open runner-up might go on that five-star vacation she spoke about after an eventful time at the season's opening Grand Slam.
