By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, August 10, 2023
Striking a stray ball prompted a spat in Montreal.
When Maria Sakkari flicked a stray ball that went into the crowd, Danielle Collins didn't appreciate it and unloaded.
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“Did you just see that?” Collins questioned the chair umpire after Sakkari sent the ball into the stands. “Did you see what happened?”
Standing behind the baseline about to serve, Sakkari replied: “It didn’t even hit... It didn’t hit anyone.”
Collins wasn't having it firing back "Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth."
Ben Rothenberg posted the exchange on social media:
Given Novak Djokovic accidentally striking a lineswoman in the throat with a stray ball that resulted in his disqualification from the 2020 US Open, you can understand Collins' concern for fans' safety.
On the other hand, you can argue if Collins had not returned an out serve, Sakkari would not have been in position to bat the ball into the crowd.
Ultimately, an intense Collins knocked off the eighth-seeded Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 continuing her Montreal resurgence.
Afterward the pair shared a respectful and quiet handshake—see the post-match handshake at 4:10 of the video here:.
After a season of struggle, Collins has found her form and fire in Canada. Collins, who beat former Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard in qualifying before knocking out Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina in the first round, will take on home hero Leylah Fernandez for a quarterfinal spot.
"I know she's going to be one tough cookie," Fernandez said of Collins. "She's a great player. I've watched her play for a long time now, and she's gone to a couple of Grand Slam Finals. I've seen her fight through so many injuries and so many matches, too, where it looked like she's out, but she comes back and wins them.
"So it's going to be a complicated match. I'm just going to talk with my coach and see what we're going to do, what's the game plan, and hopefully I can execute it."