2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins returned serve to a rowdy Australian crowd on KIA Arena after her win over local fan-favourite Destanee Aiava.
The American survived a nervy first set in a tiebreak before Aiava controlled proceedings thereafter to send the match into a decider.
Collins' experience on the big stage shone through, capitalising on a break of serve to seal her passage into the round of 32.
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But it wasn't all straight-forward for Collins, especially with the majority of the crowd against her.
In the opening game of set two, the No.10 seed shouted at spectators to "shut up" after a small minority screamed in the middle of her service game.
After converting her second match point, Collins riled up the crowd by placing her left hand on her ear heard saying, “How ‘bout that?”, before blowing sarcastic kisses.
As expected, a chorus of boos rang loud across the stadium when she blew another kiss and slapped her behind, referring to 'kiss my a**'.
In her on-court interview, the boos were so extreme to the point that the interviewer asked two questions before allowing Collins to leave.
The 31-year-old addressed the media post-game about how the crowd behaved and her reaction towards them.
"I loved it. I've been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they're on," she said.
"It kind of just motivates me even more, so it's kind of a good thing, especially when I'm not playing that well.
"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.
"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."
Melbourne Park is known for its rowdy and hostile atmospheres when supporting Australian players, with Court 6 being a prime example in the past two years.
Collins provided multiple theories as to why she thought the crowd were against her from the first ball.
"I mean, Destanee is from here. I think they really wanted 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 think they wanted to continue to see a good, long, hard match," she explained.
"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 [Collins] loves it."
Next up is a date with fellow American Madison Keys for a spot in the fourth-round.
Asked if she is worried about a potential hostile environment and if booing would follow her in upcoming matches, Collins is adamant that she isn't fazed one bit.
"All I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that doesn't - can I say it? (before the moderator cut her off saying 'Don't say it').
"Seriously, good luck trying to get under the skin of somebody that really doesn't care."
Around the grounds on social media, there were a range of mixed responses to Collins' actions.
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