Quotes from the 2009 Australian Open Interview Room - Week One
Selected quotes from the players’ post-match press conferences at the 2009 Australian Open…
Commenting on her new clothing…
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, you have seen the dress on the court. I think it's a nice dress. You know, I like the green. It's bright. It's a quite comfortable dress. I think it looks feminine. No, I also like my shoes. You know, the whole outfit is kind of coordinated. I have white and green shoes. I have my little wristband, my dress. I think it looks like. I'm happy that, you know, I'm working with this new company, which is called ANTA. This dress I haven't designed, but in the future I will be working with a designing team and I will have my own dresses and a whole range of clothes with my name on it. So it's quite cool. You know, I'm happy, really happy about it.
Describing his feelings on winning his first round in the 2009 Australian Open…
BERNARD TOMIC: …you know, it's a dream come true to win a first round in my first Grand Slam. I'm just thrilled that I could pull off a win today. With the crowd behind me, it was an unbelievable experience, so...
Commenting about all the talk about the “big four”, i.e. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and whether he/Roddick believes he should be a part of that “conversation”…
ANDY RODDICK: Not until I earn my spot back. They absolutely deserve to be the four that get talked about right now. My results last year, especially in slams, don't warrant me being talked about. The thing about sports is no one really remembers yesterday, and that's fair. You have to go out and prove yourself on a daily basis. I have no problem with that.
Describing what performance would make her happy and how important it is to her to play her best…
ANA IVANOVIC: First of all, I'm happy no matter what happens (smiling). Second of all, you know, I just want to have feeling that, you know, I gave hundred percent. If that was not good enough today, that I lost, or if it was good enough to win, that's perfect. I just want to be honest to myself that I gave the best chance I can possibly give… Obviously, you know, you want to perform the best you can every match. But it only happens maybe few times a year that you play perfect tennis, and other days you have to work yourself and stay tough and be mentally stronger maybe than other players. So I don't want to, you know, expect myself to play perfect match, because, like I say, it doesn't happen that often. You just have to sort of get through the tough days.
Explaining why she feels that being considered a contender at a Grand Slam is a good thing…
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I think it's important to have a pressure coming into the Grand Slam, because if you feel pressure it means that you're in a position to do something well. That's what you work for and what you aim. It definitely gives you confidence.
Commenting on the meaning to him of Barack Obama becoming President of the United States…
JAMES BLAKE: Absolutely has significance to me. I hope it has significance to a lot of people in the States. We're in a time that seems very historic. We're looking for positive change in the States. We're in some situations that are less than ideal in our country. I think if there's any man for the job that's ahead of him that can deal with the tasks and the pressures of being President in this tumultuous time, it's Barack Obama. I was proud to donate and help with the campaign. I'm proud to -- I'm always proud to say I'm an American, but I'm going to be especially proud at 4 a.m. here. It's going to be a very significant inauguration, a very significant presidency to have the first African American in power. Hopefully it will knock down more doors. It was so great to see an African American and a female running for the highest office in our country. I really think there's no one better qualified for the job than Barack Obama right now.
Explaining her motivation this year…
AMELIE MAURESMO: I changed coach at the end of last year and try to really, yeah, get a new momentum or fresh motivation, start something new. I felt with Loic we really went all the way and we did everything we had to do together. I felt it would be good to start with someone new, so that's what I did. So the motivation is quite high. We did some good work this winter during the off-season. I felt that I can still play at some high levels. Yeah, that's the motivation for this year, being able to play some great matches at a high level… I'm not really focusing on the ranking so much. I am aware that you have to play a lot to be able to see your ranking go up. It's not really the goal for this year. The goal is to focus on the big events - of course the Grand Slams - but also to try to win a tournament again, which I haven't done for a couple years. Not really concerned about the ranking actually. If it goes up, that's great. That's very good. It shows that I'm playing good; that I'm consistent. But I'm really looking at some level of play more than ranking.
Describing why he seems fresh at the start of the new season…
ROGER FEDERER: I do take vacation every year, two weeks, two and a half weeks, where I go on vacation to the beach and take it easy. I've been doing it for the last six or seven years now. I always take at least two weeks. We had a nice time again after the exhibitions in Macau and Kuala Lumpur. It was needed. The season was long and tough. But it was a good one. I finished strong at the Olympics, at the US Open. I like to just get away from everything, get away from people, just be alone for a while with my girlfriend. We had a lovely time. Then you're also hungry again to practice. You're happy to come back on tour. That's always what I look for when I have a schedule, is that I enjoy the tournaments but then also I enjoy being away so that I'm happy to be back again, have new stories, happy to talk to guys, happy to meet the fans, sign autographs like crazy, go out on court and leave it all out there. I like to have these extreme ways… Maybe I'm a bit more relaxed. The times when you're No. 1 in the world, you put your head down, you try to win as many tournaments as possible. Maybe sometimes you forget to enjoy it as much as you can because everything happens so quickly. At the same time it's a nice time to be No. 1 in the world, having everybody talking about you. But I'm getting older. I'm enjoying myself more. I still love the traveling. I love competing out on center court like tonight. Those are good feelings. Maybe just today or the last six months of last year, as well, after having a tough year, sometimes you can show more because you've been through a tough time. I show maybe a bit more emotions, a bit more happiness, which maybe people didn't see before.
ANDY MURRAY: I used to always wear a cap for matches, and didn't used to practice with one really at all. I wanted to get a bit more sort of continuity in what I was doing. You know, I just felt like when I was playing, if I had really long hair I would still wear a cap because it would obviously get in my eyes. But when I'd keep my hair short, you know, I don't think - for me anyway, it doesn't make a huge difference. Even when the sun's there, the cap doesn't really protect you that much. I don't know, it's just something that I changed. Since I stopped wearing a cap, I've played much better.
Commenting on all of the off-court attention that she receives…
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, you know, I try to stay positive. I'm very, very flattered because it means that you achieved something good on the court if people are more interested in what you do off the court, as well. But, you know, I understand it's part of the our life. Sometimes you wish you have a little bit more privacy or you can go shopping or dinners and no one recognizes you. But it's still very, very flattering, and I try to see it as a positive.
Describing his approach to this year…
ANDY RODDICK: You know what, I didn't want to come into -- I feel like a big reason I got hurt last year is I didn't have a lot of preparation in the off‑season. Went from Davis Cup kind of straight in. I played well, but then come May my body and shoulder wore down a little bit. Whatever happens this year, I didn't want it to be for lack of preparation or for lack of anything, any work left on the table during the off-season. You know, I don't know about a new me and all that. It's kind of the same deal. But I just had a six-week period where you could focus on what you need to do on a daily basis, and you had all sorts of -- the meals were controlled and everything was controlled. So, you know, that's a rarity that we get as top players in this game. I really tried to take advantage of it and kind of enjoyed it.
Describing his approach to working with his new coach, Larry Stefanki…
ANDY RODDICK: No, I didn't want to. I said, Listen, I'm hiring you to be the boss. Whatever you tell me to do I'm going to do. I don't have a problem with that, and I haven't had a problem with that. I think he was a little bit surprised that I was -- and I said, It's your show. Just let me know what I need to do… I trust his resume, what he's been able to accomplish as a coach. If I was going to give someone the confidence to be my coach, I wasn't going to second‑guess that once we get in there.
Commenting on all the talk that Andy Murray should maybe be considered the third challenger after Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the 2009 Australian Open title…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What's his ranking and my ranking? The thing is that you cannot put somebody, I mean, all the respect to Andy, I like him as a person and as a player. He's done a lot in the last couple months, and he's a very talented player and we can expect him to win some Grand Slams in the future. But you cannot put him as the favorites next to Roger and Rafa and myself here at Australian Open.
Commenting after her loss in the second round…
VENUS WILLIAMS: I think that, uhm -- I think that when you lose a match, you have to kind of look at the mistakes you made. I'm not going to blame anything on, you know, previous matches that I played or didn't play. So learning from this match, I'll definitely see what I did wrong, what could I have done better.
Describing her most dramatic match victory…
SERENA WILLIAMS: My greatest match, I have it on my website, was when I was younger and I beat Andy Roddick. He'll hate me for saying that (laughter). So indirectly, you know, I've beaten a lot of people on the men's tour… Practice (match), it was. He always says he's ready for a rematch, but there's no need for a rematch (laughter)… You know, might have been 11. Doesn't matter. Age doesn't matter (smiling)… Well, there's an argument about the score. I think I beat him like 6‑1. He says it was 6‑4. But I believe it was 6‑1.
Describing his extended off-season because of his knee injury at the end of the 2008 season…
RAFAEL NADAL: …I had time in December for practice - more than in other years. But other years the result were very good, too, no? I hope continues with the same results. I don't know if gonna be good. I think for some aspects can be good. For some other ones, is a little bit worse. Can be good because you didn't play, you have more time for practice, you have more time for recover mentally from the long season like last year. But at the same time I was more time than the rest outside of competition. So this is a little bit tougher get the rhythm another time. Anyway, watching the positive thing, I hope if is not here can help me for the season.
Talking after losing to Roger Federer…
MARAT SAFIN: I don't like this bye-bye part. It's just a sad story. It's not for me. I prefer to leave this way, quietly, nice, with a great match. Unfortunately, I couldn't do better than that, three sets. But anyway, I lost today probably to the better player, one of the greatest ones in the history of tennis. I really hope for him to be so I can tell the story to my kids that I played with him. I think it's a nice story… I had some ups and downs here. One disappointment. Another great year. One final against Roger. And then one title I took here beating also Roger and Hewitt. So I've been playing some great tennis. So just the whole thing, the whole setup. The beautiful city, great people. The crowd is always friendly. Go around in the city and they just love tennis. They live with tennis. They really enjoy it and appreciate what you are doing. That's what makes it special. It's really very sports-people living here. It's always nice to come here every year, year after year. Unfortunately, I doubt it's going to ever happen again.
Describing his feeling about playing in the heat ”down under”…
ROGER FEDERER: That's what we build for is to play in the tough heat. That's what why I go to Dubai and practice at 45 degrees in the summertime. This is not a problem, 40 degrees. I like playing in the daytime because of the wind, the heat. Makes it all a bit more difficult for the mind. This is where I'm very strong, so I know this actually suits my game. Yeah, I mean, look, day or night I have to take it. Usually night is going to make the decision here because the finals is played at night.
Commenting on her need for a new coach…
ANA IVANOVIC: … I'm looking for a coach. We have already chat with a couple potential coaches. In the near future, I really would like to make a decision. I think it's important. Also, without a coach for so long it's a little bit tough. You just need some direction sometimes. That's something I felt was missing in my game. Already for a while we're trying to look into some good possibilities. Obviously, it's a hard one, so I want to make sure we get the right coach.
Comparing the night crowds at the Australian Open and U.S. Open…
ANDY MURRAY: They're different. I mean, the US Open, there's always stuff going on at change of ends, music, flashing into the crowds and stuff. I mean, it's tough to compare. I mean, here, obviously the atmosphere is very good. You know, there's a lot of people sort of shouting out rather than, you know, people sort of chanting. At the US Open it's more people sort of getting excited about which famous people are in the crowd, which songs come on, who's on the big screen and stuff.
Responding to a question regarding comments by Federer and Djokovic who seemed surprised that some were considering him/Murray the favorite…
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, quite big contradictions. You know, they don't -- you know, they say there's a lot of pressure on them, but then people aren't saying they're the favorites, but they want to be the favorites. Therefore, by saying they're the favorites, they're putting more pressure back on themselves. I don't really understand the whole thing. I mean, I think I played well enough in the last six or seven months to be in that sort of group. Whether I'm the favorite or not, I don't know. Like I said at the start of the tournament, Federer, Nadal have got the most experience, you know, and probably merit being favorites. But there's a reason why people think I have a chance to win here, because I played very well the last few months and won against them.
Commenting on his motivation to start this year after having had such a strong year in 2008…
RAFAEL NADAL: The same motivation like every year. Every year when I came here, I came with my best motivation, try my best all the time. This year I gonna try the same, so... One number don't change motivation, no?
Explaining his switch to Fila clothing from Nike…
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it's a great company. Has a strong tradition in tennis. Back to the likes of Bjorn Borg. In more recent time they've had a little more visibility in the women's game with Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles when she started, now with Kuznetsova and Agnes Szavay. It's good to be part of the men's version and hopefully get it back to the same level it was at in the '70s with Bjorn Borg. I've always had a lot of respect for them as a company. The biggest thing for me is how open they are to hearing my ideas. Very soon it will be a lot inspired by me. I'm going to start my own line within Fila. I'm going to have my own name, my own trademark as a part of the Fila brand. To have a company have that much faith in you, that you can sell that much product, and you can be a force in the tennis world, I'm excited about that. I'm really excited to do some things that will hopefully last even longer than my career. If the line is doing well, when I'm done playing, it will be something that will be an easy transition. When I'm done playing tennis, I can still be involved in the game a little way by dealing with the style and the playability. It always has to be functional. That's the way the Fila clothes are for me. They're making it easy on me in the transition from Nike. It's a good fit right now. So I'm excited about that. They're going to let me also design some lifestyle and casual and golf clothes. Hopefully I'll be in Fila and then my own line for a long time to come.
Commenting on his loss to Serena Williams (when they were 10 or 11)…
ANDY RODDICK: …She always just gives me crap. Ask her about it. But she won't give me a rematch. I saw her yesterday, and she walked on the court and started laughing because she knew I had probably seen it. I said, It wasn't fair. When we were ten, I had to literally run around in the shower to get wet. I was this big (i.e. very small). She was bench pressing dump trucks already at that time. I told her that yesterday, and she got a good laugh. Any chance she gets she just does it to get under my skin, and she does it very successfully. But, you know, however many some odd Wimbledon titles and they're like, What's your best match? I have a win over Andy Roddick. She forgets to mention that it was 1993.
Commenting about possibly losing her Number One ranking after being upset…
JELENA JANKOVIC: Well, I'm not really thinking about that. If whoever gonna come back to, you know, that spot, if maybe Safina can do it if she wins this tournament. You know, she deserves to be there. If she doesn't, then I will stay there. You know, it doesn't matter because it's just the beginning of the year, and there is many more tournaments to play. So, you know, maybe it will change, the No. 1 ranking, but it's not important what you do now, it's the whole year ahead of us. A lot of tournaments, a lot of battles out there. You know, the best one will finish it. I think, at least for me, the most important thing is how you finish, not how you begin.
Explaining what he was feeling when he’d lost the first two sets to Tomas Berdych…
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know what I feel. I wasn't thinking of losing, that's for sure. The finish line was still very far for Tomas. I knew that. You can still concentrate on playing just the points instead of thinking, Oh, my God, what's going to happen? I didn't feel that way. I kind of felt after a terrible first set from my side that if I probably want to win this it's going to go to five sets. I just felt it. I knew Tomas was dangerous, and if I played even still a great set or three great sets it's probably not going to happen. He would squeeze one great set in there somewhere, second, third, or fourth. That's why I kind of was prepared for five from the start. I think that's what made me be so determined towards the end. It was nice being in a battle with him. It was fair play. It was tough, good tennis towards the end. I believed in it all the way, and I think that was key in the end.
|
