Latest news with #competitor
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Tennis brat Danielle Collins blasts ‘wildly inappropriate' camera act
A cameraman was getting a little too up close and personal during Wednesday's women's tennis match between Danielle Collins and Emma Raducanu at the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament in France. In the midst of a tightly contested battle, tied at three games a piece in the deciding third set, the two opponents entered a changeover where they switch sides and take a two-minute rest. But Collins got into a heated altercation with a cameraman for being too close to her during the break, the New York Post reports. 'I need to get water. We're on a changeover. You don't need to be that close to me, and you don't need to be on top of Emma,' Collins said while angrily giggling as the cameraman stepped back. 'It's like wildly inappropriate.' She added while pouring water into her bottle that it is 'not that difficult to give space.' Collins may have used that interaction as extra fuel, though. She immediately followed it by taking three straight games to win the third set and the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Anything for some extra motivation if it will work like that for Collins. 'I think to be good at anything, self-expression is really important. There's not too many successful people in the world that feel like they can't be themselves,' Collins said after the win over Raducanu. 'I think you have to be yourself, and I'm a competitor at the end of the day. I'm not meek and mild. I'm not someone that is going through life quietly, and I want to succeed. I know what it takes to succeed, and at this level, you have to compete and this is what competing is about. It's about bringing the energy, showing positive emotions, sometimes showing negative emotion and being upset with yourself, but then trying to work through those moments.' Collins is about as brash a tennis player as you will find. Her fiery on-court demeanour has drawn comparisons to John McEnroe. At the Australian Open earlier this year, Collins taunted the crowd after defeating Destanee Aiava, blowing kisses to the booing fans, making fun of the bystanders for being old, and defiantly slapping her butt in front of the irate fans. She added that anyone who was booing her and bought tickets to the event was actually donating to the 'Danielle Collins Fund' and she was going to go on a five-star vacation as a result. Collins now advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face Anna Kalinskaya.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Jack Draper vows to 'compete like an animal' in Rome after rising to world No 5 - as he bids to back up run to the Madrid Open final
After a whirlwind trip home to see his grandparents and dog Ozzie, Jack Draper is ready to go again in Rome. Ready to transform - superhero style - from a normal 23-year-old guy into the monster competitor who is taking the tour by storm. 'The one thing I look forward to more than anything is that moment before the match,' says the world No5, fresh off his runner-up finish at the Madrid Open. 'When I'm in the changing room on my own, I've got my music in and I know I'm going to give everything to every ball. 'I'm going to just compete like an animal. It feels like a bit of an alter ego for me.' Draper, who begins his Italian Open campaign against home player Luciano Darderi on Friday, said in Madrid that one of the factors which drives him is a fear of defeat. That felt like a rare admission for a world class athlete but he expanded upon that point here in Rome: 'I respect everyone at this level,' he says. 'I respect each player. I know what they're capable of. 'I know there's a chance that I could lose every match. So that uncertainty, that fear, that doubt, makes me compete hard for every single ball. 'I know if I've prepared well and do the right things, then I'm going to give myself the best chance of winning the match. So I guess that uncertainty drives me a lot and helps my competitive nature.' There are a couple of challenges facing Draper this week. The first is to back up his breakthrough run on clay with another solid week. He failed to do so after his Indian Wells title in March, falling in the first round of Miami, albeit to eventual champion Jakub Mensik. The second question mark which hovers over him in Rome is whether his forceful brand of clay-court tennis can be as successful away from the altitude of Madrid, where balls zip through the air. Conditions at the Foro Italico are much slower - and so success here is traditionally seen as more of a bellwether for the French Open. 'Let's see, let's see,' he said on BBC radio. 'I'm confident that I'm playing some really good tennis, on any surface, any conditions, and I think if I do all the right things I'm going to be a tough guy to beat.' As Draper's game has evolved over the last six months it has become astonishingly complete. In the semi-finals in Madrid, Lorenzo Musetti said he struggled with the Draper forehand; Casper Ruud in the final was impressed by his backhand. The British No1 says it has been a conscious effort to ensure there are no holes in his game; no areas of the court from which his opponents can feel safe. 'I've been working hard for many years on all areas of my game,' he says. 'My movement, I've got certain strengths that are good for a big guy, and all the skills I had when I was younger, when I was scrapping, I can still do that but same time I'm big now so I can also rip the ball quite hard, use my serve and my height. 'When I was younger, I was always thinking: if I'm gonna be a top player, if I play someone what do I want them to think? I want them to think I have no weaknesses. So that's the goal I want to get to.' What is the final piece of the puzzle, then, to achieve true completeness? 'Time and experience,' says Draper.
