‘I don’t want to be like Gaylord’: Danielle Collins jokes ‘Meet the Parents’ character is why she declined US Open ceremony

By Matias Grez, CNN

(CNN) — In the final grand slam of her career, No. 11 seed Danielle Collins suffered a surprise first-round loss to fellow American Caroline Dolehide at the US Open on Tuesday.

Collins was up a set and a break of serve, but Dolehide, the world No. 49, was able to fight back and claim an impressive 1-6 7-5 6-4 victory in two hours and 40 minutes.

Collins is retiring at the end of the season aged just 30 after suffering from a number of health issues during her career, including rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis.

It looked as though a farewell ceremony of sorts was being prepared for Collins, but she walked off the court before she could even be presented with a bouquet of flowers.

Collins said after the match that she requested not to have a presentation on the court.

“I’m not somebody that likes to celebrate my accomplishments,” she told reporters. “I’ve struggled with feeling guilty around success and that’s something I have had to work on.

“So I’m not great, honestly, at having an all-about-me moment. I would prefer to do something like that maybe in private, but I feel like I’ve gotten enough attention to last a lifetime.

“I mean, I was kind of thinking of that movie, I think it was ‘Meet the Parents’ or ‘Meet the Fockers,’ where Gaylord has a shrine and all his 18th-place medals. I don’t want to be like Gaylord, so I think I’m good,” she added to laughter.

Collins has enjoyed a brilliant final year on the tour, winning a career first WTA 1000 event at the Miami Open back in March, which she followed up with a victory at the Charleston Open in April.

She still has the doubles to play with partner Caroline Garcia at the US Open and says she still intends to finish the rest of the season, health permitting.

However, Collins said suffering heat stroke at the Olympic Games has played a part in her lack of form over the past couple of weeks, adding that she is now looking forward to life after tennis.

“Obviously, I’ve talked a lot about wanting to have children and starting a family and being excited about that, and just kind of stepping away from being in the spotlight,” she said.

“I like the idea of not traveling 40 weeks out of the year. I think that kind of sounds good at this point in my career with all the travel that I’ve done, even though I have enjoyed it a lot.

“I think a lot of us, we dedicate our whole lives to it, to the sport, to the travel, you give up a lot of life experiences, other life experiences for your career.”

This was Dolehide’s first US Open win of her career and the 25-year-old will now face Sara Errani in the second round.

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