”Danielle Collins is not female Novak Djokovic”;"Enjoy that 5-star hotel" - Fans react to American exiting Australian Open after 2R controversy

Danielle Collins losing to 19th seed Madison Keys in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open has sparked reactions from tennis fans. The 10th seed entered and exited the Rod Laver Arena to a sea of boos due to her controversial celebration after her second-round win against Destanee Aiava.

Collins was attacked with incessant boos during her match against home favorite Aiava, however, she celebrated her win with a wild 'cupping ear' celebration and mocked the crowd with a 'How about that' reaction. She didn't stop there as she gave flying kisses to them and followed it up with a 'kiss my as*' gesture. Her comments about bagging a 'fat paycheck' during the on-court interview only added fuel to the fire.

In the next round, Danielle Collins was welcomed to the Rod Laver Arena amid a sea of boos. Making things worse, her battle against Keys didn't go as planned and the 10th seed ended up losing 4-6, 4-6. The American exited the arena exactly how she entered, amid a cacophony of boos but she hit a peace sign before leaving the arena.

The 31-year-old had claimed, during her press conference, that she was unfazed by the negativity from the crowd and how every ticket they bought to boo her was only increasing her revenue,

As expected after that, fans reacted to Collins' exit on X (formerly Twitter) with mockery and derision. One fan claimed that Collins was not like Novak Djokovic, who is well known for giving it back to his haters.

"Of course she cares, she's not female version of Novak," the fan claimed.

Another fan joked how the American can enjoy her vacation now, alluding to her comments from her post-match interview.

"She can enjoy that 5 star hotel now that vacation came little bit more early than she expected," the fan joked.

Here are some other reactions from tennis fans.

"She sure played like she cared. she can drop the unbothered act, we all know she’s a super karen," a fan opined.

"Someone who really doesn’t give a sh1t doesn’t make comments like that or behave that way. Thats how people react when it affects them," a fan commented.

"Yeah but she’s proven they’ve gotten under her skin too otherwise she wouldn’t be acting this way so that’s a hypocritical statement," a fan mentioned.

"She should shut the door behind her,fake villain," a fan quipped.

While many tennis fans didn't take too kindly to Collins' behavior, a certain Serbian felt otherwise.

---

"I loved everything Danielle Collins said on the court and off the court" - Novak Djokovic

Danielle Collins exiting the Rod Laver Arena- Source: Getty

After his straight-set win against Tomas Machac in the third round of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was asked to opine on the Danielle Collins controversy during his post-match press conference. The Serb said he loved Collins' reaction and added how he became an even bigger fan of the American.

"I loved her response. I loved everything she said on the court and off the court. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan. I love it," he said.

The 24-time Major champion also quipped how he wouldn't have behaved as kindly as Collins did. Djokovic has engaged in heated moments with the crowd a lot of times in his career.

"I mean, I heard some comments from people that she shouldn't have said that or that. I think she handled it really well. I don't think I would be that polite, but then I know exactly the feeling. So, I think she was funny, smart, and just... big fan of what she did," Djokovic said.

Danielle Collins later gave a shoutout to Novak Djokovic on Instagram for showing her support.