Danielle Collins is giving Australian Open back its spark, despite what Ash Barty thinks

Danielle Collins has polarised fans after her antics on Wednesday night – with most Aussies unable to stand her. SCOTT GULLAN writes Australia’s sweetheart Ash Barty is in the same camp.

Ash Barty is universally loved as one of Australia’s sporting treasures.

Apart from her heroics on the court which included that unforgettable 2022 Australian Open triumph, her demeanour and the way she handled herself won over the hearts of the nation and the tennis world.

So her opinion carries a fair bit of weight given her achievements and standing in the game.

Ash Barty hates Danielle Collins.

While Barty is too nice to say it as frankly as that, don’t worry she has no time for the American who she beat in that historic Open final at Melbourne Park three years ago.

There was no way she was going to let Collins beat her that night and her epic second-set comeback was motivated by her dislike for the girl at the opposite side of the net.

The exact origins of their beef isn’t widely known but it was a well-kept secret that the happy go-lucky Barty, who was loved by everyone on the tour, couldn’t stand the girl who refers to herself in the third person as ‘The Danimal”.

Collins blowing a kiss to the crowd. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images.

Collins working the crowd. Picture: William West/AFP.

So when Collins started blowing kisses to the crowd on Thursday night and taunting them after defeating local hope Destanee Aiava, Barty would have been pacing the hallway.

Even though she’s expecting her second child, the former world No. 1 would have loved nothing more than to get to Kia Arena and send a few thunderbolts whizzing past her nemesis.

Collins’ behaviour has divided opinion. The crowds at this year’s Australian Open have been more raucous and wilder than usual with several international players suggesting they’ve been skating on the edge at times.

So you can easily say Collins was just giving back what she was coping with her “kiss-my-arse” send-off after the win. As they say all is fair in love and war.

But where she lost many was when she told the fans “thanks for the pay cheque” and later in her media conference said she’d send pictures from her holiday in the Bahamas to her haters.

“Good luck trying to get under the skin of somebody who really doesn’t care,” Collins said.

“I loved it (fighting the crowd) … I’m going to be out here for two and a half hours and putting up with all these people – I might as well just take the bigger pay cheque, right?

“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.

“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’. So bring it on, I love it.”

Bragging about being a millionaire doesn’t endear yourself to any sporting fan and what frustrated many was that Collins’ carry-on took the spotlight off what a fantastic match Aiava played given she was a qualifier whose first-round win was her first at a grand slam.

In many ways Collins has done Open organisers a favour because unfortunately they don’t have a lot of interesting storylines left for the second week.

Alex de Minaur is No. 1 for the locals but with Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis out of the doubles and headline-grabber Daniil Medvedev also disappearing, there are not many entertainers left.

Collins will get heckled and booed in her third-round match against Madison Keys and she’ll love it. There will be more eyes on the all-American match than there would have been previously and that’s a good thing.

But if you’re torn when trying to work out how you feel about Collins and her antics, take a step back and ask yourself: What would Ash Barty think?

Originally published as Danielle Collins is giving Australian Open back its spark, despite what Ash Barty thinks