Daniel Collins says the best thing about being a professional athlete is that the people who bully him pay his bills and says the abuse helped him win his second-round match at the Australian Open.
The 31-year-old kisses the crowd and cups her ear over her ear after her 7-6 4-6 6-2 win over Australia’s Destani Ayaawa in the women’s singles at Melbourne Park.
Collins has put her tennis career on hold due to “fertility issues” from endometriosis at the end of last season and is 10th in the tournament.
“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people who don’t like you and the people who hate you, they actually pay your bills,” Collins said.
“It’s a great concept. Obviously my professional career won’t last forever. So I remind myself every day when I have things like this, they pay my bills.
“Every single person that bought a ticket to come out here and cheer me on or do what they do, it all goes to the Daniel Collins Foundation.
Collins blew a kiss to the partisan crowd after beating Iowa, saying the frenzy helped him win the game.
“My group of girlfriends and I love a five-star vacation. I can guarantee you the check will go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas.”
“We love big boats, we love yachts. We’ll post about it and let you know how it goes.”
Collins: The crowd motivates me more
Two hours and 25 minutes after the last Australian left in the draw, following a win over Iowa, Collins mouthed to the crowd: “How about that?”
At the following press conference, he spoke of being motivated by the partisan crowd at the Kia Arena, which relentlessly supported Aiava throughout the match.
“I loved it. I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Collins added.
“I love playing to a crowd that has energy, no matter what side they’re on.
“It motivates me more, so that’s a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well.
Daniel Collins reacts after defeating home favorite Destani Aiawa in their second round match at the Australian Open.
“So I think that really helped me at the end, helped me focus more, and challenged me at times and pushed me to the finish line.
“I was also really happy when I finally got the momentum. I say, “Well, if I’m going to be 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 very happy to do it.”
Collins waives requirements for tactical medical time
Collins was forced to take a medical timeout when her opponent had to serve for the set at 5-2 and dismissed hints that it would delay Aiava.
“Of course they’re going to say that. It was very obvious that I was struggling to get my feet on my serve,” said Collins, who was taking medication during the timeout.
Collins shook Aiawa’s hand after her 7-6 4-6 6-2 win in Melbourne.
“I was missing a lot of serves. I had to compensate a lot because every time I bent my leg, I was doing this weird thing with my back foot.
“Honestly, I missed a lot of serves because of it, I also had a hard time getting out of the corners.
“It all came down to me needing to get some help with it and get some anti-inflammatories. It flared up during Adelaide.
“I haven’t had any pain with it since then, and all of a sudden, I think I needed some help with it after those shots. It just kept getting worse.”
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