Talking about missing an easy forehand at the end of his match against Rafael Nadal…
LLEYTON HEWITT: …. I went for a little bit too much. But that's what he makes you do. You know, he makes -- he move so well on his side of the court on this surface, that, you know, you feel like you've got to hit perfect shots against him.

Talking about fellow Serb, Novak Djokovic…
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, we speak and we catch up. It's nice to see, because I've known him for a very long time, so it's nice to catch up.  As I said, as I mentioned before, I can learn also from watching him play, because men's game is different than women's, so I can learn watching him. And he is a great player. He can achieve a lot.

Discussing her feelings before she lost her quarterfinal match against Justine Henin…
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't think I had a great practice. My routine was off. I'm very superstitious, and things weren't right, so... That's not why I lost, though. I mean, I've got to get it in my mind that I've got to stop being so superstitious. But, you know, nothing really went right for me this morning, and it just continued on through the match.

Responding to whether she thought Serena Williams was not as intense in their quarterfinal match as she usually is in her matches…

JUSTINE HENIN: I hadn't been really focused on Serena's game. I just have been focused on my game and what I had to do and what we talked about with my coach before the match, and I did my job perfectly. So what happens on the other side of the net, really, I don't care that much. I just have to be focused on my game and my goals. And I just, already before the match, I thought if I was going to be 100% mentally and not giving any points, easy points, that I could win the match. But it's never easy. You have to work hard, and that's what I did, and it really paid off. So, no, until the last point, it's not over, you have to work pretty hard, yeah.

Talking about she has anything to prove in playing tennis and why she plays…

JUSTINE HENIN: I love playing tennis because of the emotions that it gives me on the tennis court. And like I said many times, I don't want to be part of the history. I just want to do it because I love it so much, and because I love to fight, and I love to win. I'm a real competitor. And I just want to push my limits and that's it. But I do it for myself and for the people I love, and to share this moment with my fans, also. But, you know, if I play well or bad, it doesn't mean anything. I just have to fight a lot and try to give my best on the court every time I play. So that's my goal for the end of the tournament.

Discussing why she likes the big matches at the end of Grand Slams and the pressure moments…

JUSTINE HENIN: I don't know. Maybe it's less pressure also, because, you know, it's almost the end of the tournament. But, no, that's why I play tennis, to be in this kind of situation. And I love these matches. It doesn't mean that I will not be nervous or that I will win. It doesn't mean anything like that. But it's just that I like it, and it's good to be nervous. And you just have to try to take it the positive way. That's how I did today. I cannot do it every day, but I just do my best.

Commenting on whether she feels she has missed out on anything in life so far because of her tennis career…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Not really, because I didn't know what the other life could have been like. You know, I never really went -- I mean, I went to a private school for two years, but other than that, I've always been home-schooled most of my life. I never experienced having, you know, ten friends, you know. I've always had about four really close friends. I've never really been that social. I've never had to go to class every single day. So I really don't know what that life is all about. But on the other side, I don't think I - I don't really think there's much to regret, because, you know, I got to - obviously, I wake up and I practice, and it's about four or five, six hours of the day where I commit myself to my career and what I'm doing. But when I'm done with that, I'm able to enjoy the place where I live, and my house, and my car, and probably those things I wouldn't be able to have without tennis, so...

Discussing his feelings and whether he was worried after losing the second set 6-1 to Tommy Robredo during their quarterfinal match…

ROGER FEDERER: Not really during the set. After losing it, yeah. I mean, you feel like - and I don't lose sets 6-1 that often, you know, so you're like, Oh, come on, you know, get up and react to it, and stay positive as much as you can. Even though I was like, Okay, this could, you know, start becoming really bad here. Plus I was down 15-40. Still, basically, the match is just starting, the best-of-three match now, the best-of-three set match now, and try to look at it as positive as you can, even though I was not very optimistic looking forward. But I turned it around. And then it didn't really matter. But it was a tough match that I expected today, and thank God I played a great third and fourth set.

Discussing how popular tennis and sports are in Serbia…

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm really happy for it. I'm really happy for it. Honestly, I think that we're really all proud, and I think the people are proud on tennis players - not just tennis players. But the sport and everything what happened in the last, you know, couple of months or year or two, is just phenomenal for such a small country. Especially in tennis, no tennis tradition, you know. We didn't have big tennis players, especially in men's, you know, tennis. And now, the tennis got really popular in our country, and I think it's one of the most popular sports, maybe the No. 1 right now. I'm really happy for it, you know. We've been through a lot of difficulties and problems as a country in the last 15, 20 years, so now it is something positive going on.

Discussing whether he is superstitious…

RAFAEL NADAL: …. I'm not very superstitious. Why? I put the bottles? And I always say that little bit the ass is not superstitious. There's problems with that (laughing), little bit bigger than usual. But, no, yes, the socks is not superstitious. When I am playing, after this style of shorts, not more large shorts, it's going to be easier. I'm going to finish about the socks. What? Nothing else, I think. What do you think? What more? Nothing else, huh? The lines? The lines? No, the lines. Just on clay, because I like the white line (laughing)… I am repeating a lot of things. But no, no, no. If Moya go on my place and put the bottles outside, I can continue in playing the match with the same -- with the same chances, I know that. The bottles not going to give me a power for win, not one point, I know. I am not stupid about that.

Discussing where she practiced as a kid in Serbia…

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, to tell you the truth, I grew up playing in a swimming pool. It's a club where they had olympic swimming pool, and then it was very expensive to keep it warm during the winter, and there was not many people using it. So they emptied the swimming pool, and they put carpet inside, and they placed -- (laughing) it's true. They placed two tennis courts and that's where I grew up practicing. And it was impossible to play crosscourt, because it was this far from the wall. So we had to keep playing down the lines. And that was the courts we had during the winter. In the summer was better situation. We had a lot of other clay courts. But still, these days we have maybe one or two hard court, outdoor. And it's very -- it's very hard for us to practice there. But indoor, also we are struggling with the hard courts. But clay, it's much better, much better courts.

Discussing the fact that so many players have come from difficult situations when they were young and whether it has impacted their success…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think it's one of the reasons. I mean, I wouldn't say -- I mean, I personally never really suffered, but I worked very hard, and I didn't have all the things being given to me. You know, not everyone came up to me and said, you know, here's all this money, and here's a car, and here's a house, and here, I'll give you this match. You know, I think I've definitely had to work for everything that I have today, obviously, with the help and sacrifice of my family and everyone around me. But my -- I think the background is definitely a factor, because you realize that you've worked for everything that you have, and you know how hard it is. And you want to keep going. You know, you strive, you strive for more. Because you know you're capable of it. You know you're capable of being good, you know yourself, how good you can be. And that, you want more of that. If you do come from not having much, and you do become successful, you just want more of that. I mean, I personally do.

Discussing after her semifinal win how she’s feeling these days…

JUSTINE HENIN: Well, I feel very peaceful. I hope I feel peaceful in two days' time, but this is something you have to work on. And I think that's the key to my victories. I still feel the stress. I couldn't sleep well last night, and quite rightly so. The day I sleep well before an important match in a Grand Slam tournament, maybe that's the time I should think about quitting the tournament. But I think more peaceful, and that's a great happiness, and that helps me play my best tennis on the courts, so it's very positive.

Commenting about her feelings after winning the final…

JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, I think, you know, the match has been pretty easy, even if at the beginning of the match, she had the control for two games. And then she's been pretty nervous, and I did my job perfectly. I served well, and I did what I had to do on the court.
But the atmosphere, and what I felt when I won, and the fact that, yeah, my family was there, and the good people around me. And it's been, yeah, a huge step in my life in the last few months. And I was glad I could give them this victory. Because everyone suffered a lot from the situation in the last few years. And today, finally, we are united in this joy, and we can share this moment, and it's great. And I feel so happy that I can offer that to them.

Discussing her relationship with her coach, Carlos Rodriguez and how important he’s been to her success…

JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah, he is a big part. You know, it's 11 years, and that's pretty unique. Not a lot of people, just a few people can do it. And it's tough. You need a lot of respect, you need to be strong, and you need to love each other a lot, also. And I think we have everything in our relationship. And it's just great. And his family, also, how they support me. How they can deal with the situation. And it's just amazing. We got closer and closer in the last few months, even if Carlos wants to keep some distance. But I think he starts to realize that we -- it's much more than a professional relationship. And he respects me a lot as a player, but much more important, as person. And it's been amazing how he's been strong in the last few months with me.

Describing his feelings after losing the French Open final…

ROGER FEDERER: Oh, I don't know how I felt last year, but I think I was disappointed, you know, for five minutes. Same today, you know. Came back in the locker room, was down and disappointed, and not much to say right then, you know. The worst is when the whole team comes up and goes, "I'm proud of you," you know, "You did a good job. Bad luck." That is the worst part. But that's okay, you know. I played another final of the Grand Slam. I'm on an incredible run yet again. So disappointment goes away after a short time. And, yeah, I'm an experienced guy. That's not going to kill me, so it's okay.

Discussing whether playing Nadal brings out the best in him as Sampras said playing Agassi did for him…

ROGER FEDERER: I don't know, you know. He's such a different type of player, you know, and he kind of wears you out or wears you down, you know. He's the type of guy that's going to make you miss, you know. So you can never really say you played great against him, for some reason, you know. I think that's easier said against a righty, you know, where kind of the game is played in a normal manner. With Rafa being a lefty, the whole thing gets kind of screwed up, you know. So that's the tough part. That's why I can never really say I played fantastic or bad against him, because it's just awkward.

Discussing whether Nadal can win other Grand Slams and what winning a Grand Slam title does for one’s confidence…
ROGER FEDERER: Well, because when you win one Grand Slam tournament, you can win the others. It's just like me, when I won my first Wimbledon, I thought, "Well, I know how to win a Grand Slam tournament, so I can win the US Open, the Australian Open, and Roland Garros." It gives you motivation and confidence. And given his final in Wimbledon last year, he knows that on all other surfaces, he can win the title. He won Indian Wells easily, and that's a surface which is very similar to that of the US Open or to that of Australia. So why not the other Grand Slam tournaments? Yet, there are many other very good players, and it's not easy to win all the Grand Slam titles, because there are too many good players.

Describing his different emotions after winning each of his French Open titles…
RAFAEL NADAL: No comparison. Always different feeling, different situations, because it's not the same moment of your career. So first year was very emotional because it was the first. Second year was very emotional because I come back after injury. And this year, I am very happy because I play my best tennis here.

Describing his feelings regarding winning other Grand Slam titles besides the French Open…

RAFAEL NADAL: Winning in any Grand Slam always is very important for me, no? But the most important for me always is not winning the Grand Slam, the most important for me is feeling I am improving my tennis, feeling I am playing well. And I know if I'm feeling that things, I'm going to have my chances for win more Grand Slams.

 

Posted by TC at 01:01 PM || Comments (1)