Danielle Collins branded a ‘villain’ by ex-Aussie pro after telling fans to ‘shut up’

Tennis needs “villains” like , an ex-Australian professional has claimed.

The American world No.11 was still the talk of today after baiting the home crowd while eliminating the final Aussie female player from the singles.

The sassy Collins, who calls herself The Danimal, told fans to “shut up” and then cupped her hands to her ears, blew kisses and slapped her backside after beating qualifier Destanee Aiava.

She then told fans “thanks for the pay cheque”, which she said would be funding her next holiday. “It’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund,” she taunted.

But Casey Dellacqua told Channel Nine: “Every story needs a bit of theatre, right? I love that tennis has a bit of that. I love that we have got villains in our game, we have got the nice guys, we have got love stories, we have got everything. I like it.”

And fellow ex-pro John Millman added: “She is not the only one. Jelena Ostapenko and rile up the crowd and it’s part of the theatre. is a villain. John McEnroe is the biggest villain of all.”

After her defeat, Aiava said: “It was really fun. Kinda sounded like a rugby league match. But it was very different. I think we could use a little bit more of that in tennis.”

American star Collins is now gearing up for her third-round contest against compatriot Madison Keys tomorrow, and the 31-year-old may be expecting to have the majority of the crowd against her following her actions last time out.

Meanwhile, fellow American has booked her place in the fourth round following a convincing win against Leylah Fernandez earlier today. She will face Belinda Bencic next, who progressed after Naomi Osaka retired from their match.