Danielle Collins thanks booing Australian Open crowd for 'big fat pay cheque' after beating home qualifier

Danielle Collins soaked up the boos and blew back kisses after beating Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava to reach the third round of the Australian Open.

Collins, the 10th seed, survived a brief scare to win 7-6 4-6 6-2 to end Aiava’s run at the tournament and the American raised her hand to her ear after winning match point.

In response to the boos from the Kia Arena crowd, Collins began to blow kisses in their direction and asked for more before shaking hands with her 24-year-old opponent, who was the last Australian player left standing in the women’s singles.

Collins did not stop there, either, and took hold of the microphone as she was booed during her post-match interview to tell the crowd that she had just secured a “big fat pay cheque”.

The Australian Open’s social media channels compared the American’s celebration on match point to “prime Hulk Hogan” in reference to the former WWE wrestler’s villainous heel turn.

“You know I was thinking during the match, hmm, if I’m out here I may as well take that big fat pay cheque,” Collins told the jeering crowd.

“CoCo [Vandeweghe] and I, we love a good five-star vacation so part of that pay cheque is going towards that. So thank you guys!”

Collins continued to be jeered by the crowd but reclaimed the microphone to sign off: “Thank you guys, love ya.”

And she had a further message for the haters in her post-match press conference, thanking the crowd for paying toward the “Danielle Collins Fund”.

“I loved it,” she said. “I've been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they're on. It just motivates me even more.

“I think it really helped me in the end, just helped me concentrate more and challenged me at times, pushed me kind of through the finish line.

“If I'm going to be out here for two-and-a-half hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well just take the bigger pay cheque, right? I was super happy to do that.

“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don't like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. It's kind of a cool concept.

“Obviously my professional career is not going to last forever. So I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff, they're paying my bills.

“Every person that's bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it's all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund.

“I mean, look Destanee is from here. I think they really wanted for her to win badly. I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.

“I'm from a different country, here competing against someone that's from here. Ultimately it was a pretty cool environment I thought. Even though it was pretty rowdy, this girl loves it, so...

“All I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that really doesn't care.”

The 31-year-old Collins, who is a former finalist at the Australian Open, is known for not holding back in her emotions on court and the American has continued her career despite announcing her intention to retire last season.

Collins said that she intended to retire at the end of 2024 but said in October last year that fertility problems linked to endometriosis had prompted a rethink.

She was named in the US team for the United Cup at the start of the year, and compatriot Coco Gauff said she respects the 31-year-old for being her authentic self.

“I always say Danielle is going to be Danielle. There's no one changing her,” Gauff said this week. “She doesn't care either. That's something I can respect when someone knows who they are”