"Come out and play...have a little more respect" - Danielle Collins claps back at heckler during Madrid Open 3R clash against Jaqueline Cristian

Danielle Collins has continued her fantastic run of the 2024 WTA Tour by securing her berth in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.

Danielle Collins faced Jaqueline Cristian in the third round of the 2024 Madrid Open on April 28. Cristian, who had been in good touch this year with a semifinal appearance at the Transylvania Open and a quarterfinal at the Charleston Open, made a perfect start to the match by taking the opening set.

Collins roared back into the contest by breaking Cristian at 5-4 in the second set to force a decider. During the second set, the American had an altercation with a fan trying to disrupt her rhythm.

Collins has never shied away from showing her emotions on the court and gave a stern response to the heckling fan. She called on the fans to come to the court to play and demanded them to show more respect.

“You come out and you play. Come out here and do what I do, okay? Have a little more respect,” Collins said.

Collins shifted gears in the third set to break the Cristian serve twice and wrap up a hard-earned victory 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in just over two hours. This is the first time the American has made it past the third round in Madrid.

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Danielle Collins to face Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid Open 4R

Danielle Collins

In one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the year, Danielle Collins will face Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the 2024 Madrid Open on April 29. The head-to-head record is lopsided in favor of Sabalenka, with the Belarusian winning all five contests. However, they have never played each other on the clay court.

Danielle Collins is certainly amongst the most in-form women on the WTA Tour at the moment and is currently on a 15-match winning streak. She picked up her maiden WTA 1000 title at the 2024 Miami Open and backed it up with a triumph at the WTA 500 Charleston Open. More impressively, she dropped only one set en route to these two titles.

At the Madrid Open, the World No. 15 showed resilience by coming back from a set down in her first two matches against Olga Danilovic and Jaqueline Cristian. She will need to show this fighting spirit if she hopes to overcome the defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, for a quarterfinal berth.

Sabalenka is the No. 2 seed and, like Collins, had to play three-set affairs to better Magda Linette and American wildcard Robin Montgomery. The reigning Australian Open will have her eight-match winning streak in Madrid on the line when she faces Collins.