Discussing how Zina Garrison was a role model for her when she was a kid…

Discussing what kept him going during his 0-11 losing streak in ATP tournament matches…

DONALD YOUNG: I love playing tennis. I love winning. I want to win. Just want to taste it and just keep winning. You know, I wanted to win at this level and I was determined to do it.

Discussing why he continued to play junior tournaments…

DONALD YOUNG: …I mean, winning breeds winning. When you win matches at any level it helps you win at the other level. But it was also just to go in there and beat your peers, handle the pressure.  Because when you play out here there's not that much pressure because I'm like 200 in the world and everybody's top 100. I'm not supposed to win. But in the juniors I believe I'm supposed to win, so it's a different pressure.

Discussing his decision to play college tennis and stay in school…

JOHN ISNER: …Coming out of high school I was, you know, tall, skinny, gangly, not strong, not mature. I was none of that. You know, I had to go to college and get stronger, start growing out instead of up, coming into my body. I got a lot stronger in college, mentally a lot tougher. It's really what helped me out. I really think most -- actually, there are some exceptions. Some kids that don't go to college and they're not developed. They go out here, play against 25-, 26-year-olds, a lot stronger than you, and you're going to take a licking. Not good for your confidence.

Discussing her feelings playing her first match as defending Champion…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, apart from being a little nervous in the end, I thought I did a good job of doing the right things, not just on the serve but in my game as well. Coming in after being the defending champion, stepping out on to the court, it's not exactly the easiest situation. I thought I handled it pretty well.

Talking about shortening her service motion…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was just, you know, it's a group decision because obviously I was struggling with the shoulder for quite a while. After Wimbledon, you know, all of us, my team got together and we just thought of all the things that could help my shoulder not just for the next tournament or not just for the next Grand Slam but for my future, what was going to be important for it. You know, I adjusted my weight of my racquet a little bit. I changed the serve and made it a little shorter. It's not that short, just shorter than it used to be because my old swing used to be pretty dramatically long.

Discussing her decision to serve and volley a couple times…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, my serve becomes better when I jump forward and I move in. It just gives me more confidence on the serve. It's a good way to practice it when you're up 30-Love or 40-Love. I mean, why not? I mean, like I said, I'm going to be playing for a few years to come. If I can add these things to my game now it'll only make me a better player in the coming years.

iscussing her feelings playing her first Wimbledon final versus the 2006 U.S. Open final…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, goodness. It's so tough to say, because when I was playing, say, the finals of Wimbledon I wasn't expecting myself to be in the finals of Wimbledon. I think what was the most impressive thing about that was that I went into the final and I didn't even know nerves existed. I played as if that was just another match. That was the greatest thing looking back at it. Getting to the finals here last year I really felt like was ready to be in a final of a Grand Slam and I felt like I was ready to win another slam physically and mentally. Whereas, at Wimbledon I was just going match by match and I never seemed to care what people were saying, how things were playing out. I was just winning matches. I was beating top players and doing it, you know, without nerves. That was -- but it's just hard to say.

Discussing winning the U.S. Open title in 1997…

MARTINA HINGIS: Sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes like a lifetime. I think when you wake up in the morning you feel really good, you feel like you've been on the tour forever. Also by the fans, the recognition I get, I was given over the years, the response has been tremendous. I walk into New York restaurants, people know me. It's a great thing to be rewarded with. I'm just very happy to be back out here and playing good tennis.

Discussing her thoughts regarding whether she can wan a Grand Slam title…

ANA IVANOVIC: I definitely believe so. I think at the moment anyone can beat anyone in woman's tennis. It's definitely something I want to achieve. It's just that I don't want to put that kind of pressure on myself. I just want to take it step by step and try to enjoy each match. If I start thinking emotionally if I'm going to win a Grand Slam or not, then the journey is becoming much more difficult. But just focusing on my game, that's the only way I can achieve that goal.

Discussing writing his book, “Breaking Back”…

JAMES BLAKE: …The first thing that I needed to do was make sure my mom approved. She was okay with all that stuff coming out. I've always been okay with myself being in the public spotlight. That's what I do. My life is in a public arena. So I'm completely comfortable with whatever people want to say, negative or positive, about me. That's what I signed up for when I entered professional sports. But it was always difficult for me, some of the things I'm sure you're talking about keeping close to myself, were things about my family. Because I know they're in this involuntarily. Just being associated with me brings them into the public spotlight. That was always tough for me.  So to put my family and my friends in this public of a situation, I wanted to make sure they were okay with it. It was really partly a tribute to my dad and my friends for how much they helped me. So I wanted to give them so much credit. Because now I'm getting a ton of the credit and adulation for comeback and everything that I've done since 2004, and I wanted people to know that it wasn't just me. It's not just me out there on the court. It's all the fans, it's all the friends of mine that cooked me dinners, it's all the friends that stopped by just to pick my day up when I was maybe a little down. I wanted to make sure they got that credit.  When they all were okay with it and they all said that it's fine, then I'm really glad people got to know that. I'm really glad people can see that pro athletes don't necessarily always have the smoothest ride. They don't have anything in their life perfect. There are ways to deal with tough times. There's ways to deal with great times. I just hope my way -- it worked for me and I hope it can be somewhat of an inspiration for others of how to get through tough times. For me that was with my friends and family. I'm really proud of them for helping me. I'm proud of the book because I've heard so many people come up to me with positive reinforcement for me, saying they can relate to it, they can relate to me more now as a human being as opposed to a guy that can go out there and play in front of 20,000 people. There aren't that many people that can relate to that situation, but there's a lot that can relate to the very human things I've gone through in the first three or four years.

Discussing his attitude facing his first match against Roger Federer and whether he believed he could win…

JOHN ISNER: I'm going to have to. If I go in that match not believing I'm gonna win, just happy to be out there, you know, he's going to smell that, he's going to smell that blood and just attack. But I'm going to go out there and just play my game. Most importantly, have a lot of fun. I'm gonna believe. I'm not saying I'm gonna win, but I'm gonna believe. That's what I have to do.

Discussing wearing his all-black outfit during his first night match…

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, why not? It still looks like tennis attire. I'm not saying the women sometimes it goes overboard, but sometimes it looks more like a dress to go into the city than go on the tennis court. Of course, it's always going to look that way because they are dresses. But for me I thought it was a cool mix with kind of the tuxedo kind of looks, all black. Why not? Especially at night. During the day you could never wear a black shirt anyway because it would be too hot. I kind of like to do sophisticated statements. Also at Wimbledon with the jacket, I kind of took a chance. I thought I was going to look like an idiot. But kind of people liked it. I thought actually it was a great idea. So I backed it up this year with an entire outfit, and here in New York with a black one. So it's good stuff.

Talking about whether she feels more or less pressure this year at the U.S. Open…

Describing how she feels about herself…

VENUS WILLIAMS: In my little world, how I see myself, I see myself as special (laughter). At least if I wasn't even doing anything super special, I would feel special. I've always felt really good about me. So that's really what counts… I love being me. I just like myself. I love being in my family. I love the way we interact, always have each other. I like the decisions I make. I like my style. I just like who I am. I'm comfortable with that. So whether or not I was working a desk job, I would feel like, you know, I was a special person.

Discussing whether it’s important to have an easy first week at a Grand Slam…

JUSTINE HENIN: It's important, but I'm not quite sure it does mean a lot of things. I've been in trouble sometimes when I won Grand Slams, I've been in trouble in my first week. For me, it doesn't mean anything. It's good physically if you can remain fresh and mentally and emotionally. In another way, if you can get a little bit in the competition early, I think it's pretty good, too. I don't think that much about that. I just take whatever I can take and be positive and move forward.

Describing her feelings being on the tennis court…

JUSTINE HENIN: It's the place where I feel great. I was probably born to do that. Tennis, I've learned a lot of things with my career about me, what I want, the person I want to become. It really helped me to grow up very quickly, too, because I gave 200 percent all the time for that. It's 20 years I played tennis. A lot of sacrifices. But the best thing is just the emotions that it gave me and the emotions I could give to people I love and to my fans. Very, very emotional, yeah. Very lucky to do that.

Discussing what her U.S. Open title means to her, i.e. is it “in the past” and/or a source of pride and confidence booster…

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I kind of agree with Marat. I read this this morning in newspaper. But in the same thing, it's a pride of mine. It's great achievement for me. It was the best one. So I cannot say it's in the past, forget it. I cannot say that. Definitely now it's new thing, new start. Everything you have to do -- hopefully to do it more, try to do it more times. Definitely it bring some confidence to know that you can do that.
It makes difference to have one or not to have one. People who don't have it don't know how they gonna feel, how can they go through. This is good experience. So it's both things together for me.

Describing finally winning a five set match…

JAMES BLAKE: …A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. That's definitely the feeling of I actually honestly said to myself at the beginning of that fifth set, I'm just not going to lose this match; I'm going to win this. Up until now the whole five set jinx, whatever, it had never really entered into my head. When I got in a fifth set, I was just focused on winning and doing what I had to do to get there, but this time I just said to myself, I'm not going let it happen this time.  I feel fine physically. That's not going to be an issue. I know I have a game plan that can be effective against him. I know what I need to do, I just need to go out and execute. I was able to do it today.  And that was just an unbelievable feeling at the end of the match to look up and see how pumped my box was, and to see how pumped the J Block was, and to know that they all believed in me when many people at desks in front of computers and in front of microphones didn't, I know that. So I'm happy that they were so happy for me.

Describing the best and worst parts of playing “at home”…

JAMES BLAKE: The best part is the crowd. Having this many people that I know that care about me that support me is such a big thing. To look up to just about any part of the stadium to see some friendly face or someone cheering for me is an unbelievable feeling. It's something that I actually thought about going out onto the court and the ovation I got and thought about how few people get lucky enough to have that feeling just once in their life. I've had it so many times, and I hope that I have it many more. But just the fact that I've had it once is unbelievable. And worst part is sometimes just kind of the commotion that comes with it. Pete making me work a little too hard with the press. All my friends and family wanting, you know me it's not them it's me want to go spend time with all the people that I don't get to see that often, and the sometimes I guess I could equate it to like a wedding. People tell me that when you get married you'll never blow off so many of your friends. Because you just have so much to do. So I have so much to do and so many close friends around here that I don't get to devote enough time to each one of them. Hopefully I'll have enough time after the Open.

Talking about his past birthdays (which fall during the U.S. Open)…

ANDY RODDICK: …I don't really have birthday parties here because I always have to play. Yeah, I mean, I actually spent a couple of two years of my birthdays up here with my mom. She brought me up here for my birthday to this tournament. One year was the year Jimmy made his run to the semis. I would I'd get here for the first match and I wouldn't leave till it was over. Those are probably my fondest memories, just sneaking into the nosebleed sections. I actually snuck into the players lounge one time and stole a cheesecake.

Talking about her wrist-watch…

JUSTINE HENIN: …I cannot live without my watch. It's just a few players. I don't know, I never saw another player playing with a watch. But I always keep my watch. I sleep with that. I take my shower, everything. I cannot live without my watch (smiling). It's good. Except on holidays, I take it off. But it's tough. I like to be on time. I think it's a great quality, being on time.

Talking about the future…

MARAT SAFIN: Only the most beautiful moments still to come. The past wasn't bad for me, but the future is -- that's why I will hope for the best. That's why moving through life I think the best moments are still to come. It can be tennis or anything different. Just have nothing to do with tennis. Maybe. Maybe it is. Maybe still be here and maybe next year I will win a couple of Grand Slams, you never know. But just I'm sure the best moments still to come.

Explaining how she first met Novak Djokovic when she was a little kid…

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, with my family, I went on holidays in the mountain in Serbia. We just went into a restaurant for lunch. I think, my father knew his uncle. They went to school together. He has his uncle, yeah, he was there. We met. We played on the swings, how you call this, on the slide. 15 years later we are here, we are playing something different.

Discussing the state of serve-and-volley tennis…

TIM HENMAN: …I think I've been a sort of genuine serve and volleyer, whereas I think these days, the way people serve, you look to sort of crush a serve as hard as you can and then you run in behind it. If it comes back, you volley it. I don't think it's necessarily such a combination anymore. But obviously with I think the nature of the conditions and the balls, it's definitely becoming harder and harder to do, and, therefore, I think less and less people are really being taught it and encouraged it at a young age. Therefore, you've got an event here with, you know, 128 male players, and there's going to be very few guys that are serving and volleying.

Explaining her reaction to the chair umpire telling her she couldn’t look at her notes during the changeover…

SERENA WILLIAMS: He told me I couldn't use my notes. I was like, well, it's not like I'm Harry Potter, and my dad can magically give me notes to read; it's something that I write myself. Just little things. What if I were to take a paper on the court and write something, what's the difference?  So I'm not one for coaching never have been. I just couldn't understand. I've been doing it for years. It's not like something all of a sudden. It's something that I just do… and then he said it was fine. I asked him if that was something they do on the ATP Tour, because I don't play on that tour, nor do I belong over there. He said, yeah. I was like, no one has ever told me. I've been doing this for my first two matches as well.

Discussing her loss to Agnieszka Radwanska…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, although I won many games in a row after losing the first and being down 1-0, you know, you'd think I'd have the momentum in the third set with a break. But I just didn't really feel that way inside of me for some reason today. You know, just going to have those kind of days where you're always trying to come through and always trying to find a way even though you don't feel like things are exactly going your way. You know, that's just what happens.

Talking about her feelings being the defending champion and losing in the third round…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's always tough. No matter if you lose in the semis, whatever round it is. But especially being the defending champion, it's tough. Definitely not an easy day at the office for me. But, you know, it's -- I could sit here all day long and come up with excuses and say how bad I played. But at the end of the day my opponent won the match and I lost it. Better go on from here. Clearly it hasn't been my best year. Just hasn't been my year. But that's the way things go. I got take the good and I got take the bad and I got move on, just keep working hard, and someday the work that I did before this tournament, beginning of the year, whenever it was, it's going to pay off. I'm not worried about that.

Discussing being a role model…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, it's tough being a role model, because when I was growing up I never really had a role model because I never thought that anyone was perfect. So it's tough to hear when kids do say that, you know, I want to be like Maria Sharapova. I say, No you don't. Because I'm not perfect. You know, I might be good at some things but I might not be good at other things. You want to strive for the best. You want to try to be the best. So, you know, so that's what's a little strange is that when kids do come up to me and say, I want to be just like you. I'm like, Okay.

Describing her emotions right after losing her third round match…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's disappointment. There's no happiness, I'll tell you that. I mean, look, at the end of the day it really is a just tennis match. You know, some days you win and some days you lose. Some days you lose in the finals and some days you lose in the third round and some days you lose in the first round. You just never know how it's going to play out. Sometimes you work really hard for something and you get it when you want it, and sometimes you work really hard and you don't get it. You never know when God's going to bring down those gifts. So I'm waiting for those Christmas gifts.

Talking about playing John Isner and other big servers such as Andy Roddick…

ROGER FEDERER: …I think he's always going to be tough to beat because of that serve. That serve is not going to go away anytime soon. That's just the way it is. This is also one of the reasons I believe Andy has been able to stay in the top for so long, because that serve will always be there.  15 40 he can hit a couple of aces and serve his way out of trouble. That's such a good thing to have. That's what I've been doing well over the last few years. If you have a serve that does that it helps your game and you're always going to be tough.  I don't think it's going to be easier the second time around, no.

Describing his feelings after losing the first set to John Isner…

Describing his feelings about whether he was lucky in his win against Stefan Koubek…

JAMES BLAKE: Who was it that said, the more I practice the luckier I seem to get. You know, when I feel confident the way I do right now, I don't really consider a lot of things luck. I try to, you know, you kind of make your own luck. That's what I felt like I did. I know he had chances much. He was serving for the set in the tiebreaker. He made a couple more mistakes that he wasn't making before that. I don't know if that's luck, if that's nerves, if that's him looking up to see what I'm going to do, if he's worried that I'm going to start going for a little more and hitting some winners. I don't know what that is. But I don't remember any let cords or anything or lines hit. I felt like I played a pretty solid breaker.  I don't remember specifically, maybe I did get a lucky shot here or there. But like I said, the harder I work the luckier I think I get.

Describing his feelings playing Roger Federer in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open…

JOHN ISNER: Yeah. It was amazing. That was up there with -- I mean, I played lot of good atmosphere this summer but that obviously by far was the most fun I've had playing a tennis match, it was amazing. Especially after winning the first set. The feeling of beating Roger Federer in a set, sitting down it was crazy.

Describing the fact that he felt more pressure playing for his college tennis team versus the pressure he feels as a pro…

JOHN ISNER: I really do. When I lost in college I felt like I let my team down. It's something, it was a terrible feeling. I didn't lose much in the team format but when I did I felt terrible. You always want to get that point for the team. When I lose out here I'm only letting myself down. I think college tennis really has prepped me well for this because I don't feel as much pressure out here than I did playing college.

Describing his run to the third round at the U.S. Open…

DONALD YOUNG: It was awesome to me. Any way you can take it, I'll take it. Third round of the US Open, a tournament I've watched since I was like little and always wanted to play in. To win matches and rounds in this tournament is awesome.

Discussing how he’s feeling about his knee and his game after his third round win…

RAFAEL NADAL: I play good today. Today and second round I play so much better. I'm happy about my game from today and two days ago. I am playing well. Sure, it's not easy play like this, and this -- well, it's more difficult play good if you have some problem, like me, no? So I'm very happy about that, because when I go on court I'm playing at a very good level and if I don't feel the pain. I can play so much better because I don't think about the knee, no? So for example, yesterday I go practice and I don't put one ball inside the court because my mind is there. It's on the knee not on the ball, no? But today I feel better. It's very important thing. Just think about the ball, don't think about the pain because if not it's impossible.

Talking about the possibility of playing her sister, Venus Williams, in the semis…

SERENA WILLIAMS: …Well, we don't talk about that. We're pretty focused on both of our matches. Obviously I want nothing but the best for her and she wants nothing but the best for me, unless of course we're playing each other. Then it's like, Okay I want to win. That's how we look at it.

Discussing her calm attitude…

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. A blessing from God, I guess. When I got on the court I just wanted to not rush, and just take my time, and just go ahead and do what I needed to do, tell myself to just go ahead and take care of the job, if that makes any sense. A lot of times in my head I just try to make it simpler and not let it get complicated, and just really enjoy hitting the ball.

Discussing her rivalry with Serena Williams…

JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah. I mean, we both have a lot of character and a lot of personality. We both have been very strong mentally on the court and in the last few years. She won Grand Slams; I did. She's been No. 1 and I've been. So it's great. You know, now let's go and play and we'll see what's going to happen. But there's a lot of respect professionally between the two of us, that's for sure.

Posted by TC at 10:58 PM |