2011 U.S. Open Tennis Interview Room Quotes - Week One
Selected quotes from the players’ post-match press conferences at the 2011 U.S. Open...
Commenting on her 28th seeding…
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it's fine. I'm 29 maybe in the world, I guess, I don't know, so I don't see where else I should be seeded. The rules changed. I know back in the day they used to have, if you were out for a while they used to have these injury rules, but I believe they got rid of that.
Commenting on his dreams…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, in my life I have a lot of dreams, but in my tennis career, as well. You know, look, I did achieve the dreams that I had throughout all my tennis career, but I still have lots to prove to myself, first of all. I think I'm able, if I continue on playing this way, I'm able to win more majors. That's one of my goals, you know, in the next couple of years, to try to stay healthy and try to perform well and win as many majors as I can. You know, Olympic medal and, you know, another Davis Cup would be great.
Commenting on what she did during Hurricane Irene
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I went to the gym; I did a little workout; I played with my dog; I had room service. Everything else was just about closed. Everything that was opened was completely packed. There's an antique store open down the street, which I thought was probably the best day of their life because of everyone walking around. They never thought they were going to sell that old giraffe that's been there for a hundred years (laughter). Yeah, even my dog kept like going back to his little bag. It kind of freaked me out because that's a sign he wanted to go home. Maybe the hurricane was going to be bad. We were lucky, yeah, that it was just a little rain.
Commenting on her confidence after her first round win…
VENUS WILLIAMS: Confidence, you know, comes with execution. So, I mean, to come out and win a first round match, that helps a lot. Being in tight situations helps a lot. But the good part is that at least I have experience, and that helps with my confidence, that I know how to handle situations and scenarios. That gives me definitely more confidence than maybe someone with less experience. I think I can't worry about that. These are the cards I have, so I have to do the best with what I have, play my best in every moment.
Commenting on how long she and sister, Serena Williams, will keep playing…
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, I would be so upset if she retired. She could never do that to me. We have to go out together. But we've decided we're not going to lead a traditional career. We haven't to this point, so we won't. So we're going to play past the limit that anyone has ever played, and when our singles game goes, we'll continue to dominate in doubles, hopefully bring home more majors in that. So we've decided to just enjoy tennis. It's such an honor. We'll do it as long as we can. Right now the end is not really in sight.
Responding to comments that she needs to develop a big shot to win a Grand Slam…
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: They can say what they want. I'm the type of player I am. I've won a lot of tournaments. I'm No. 1 in the world, and of course I can still improve. There are a lot of things to my game I can still improve, but everyone can. You know, I'm on the right track. I just go out there and I play the way I do, and, you know, hopefully that's good enough.
Commenting on whether being Number one is a burden or an honor…
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No. It's definitely an honor, and it's a dream for me to be there. You know, I'm trying to stay up there as long as possible, and doesn't really matter what people are saying. No one can ever take that away from me. I'm No. 1 in the world. I have been there for 46 weeks. So, I mean, that's a great achievement.
Commenting on whether he sometimes doesn’t feel like going out to play…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: There is always those days, you know, where you don't want to get up and, you know, you don't feel like playing. It's normal, you know. Everybody has those days. Bad days in the office, if you want to call them. But, you know, in the end it's yours job. It's your profession. You have to do it. You go on the court especially if you're playing big tournaments, big matches, you have to try to play your best. That's something that, you know, always keeps me motivated, the will to win.
Commenting on whether the women or men should play the first match during the night session…
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I think the guys should play second. They're guys. We're ladies. We're ladies. They should totally play second all the time. Ladies, you open the door for ladies. They should go second. It's ridiculous.
Commenting on why the U.S. Open is his favorite tournament…
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. When I was so young, I so want to be at this tournament, I say, Okay, this is my favorite. It will be a dream if I win this tournament, and then the dream comes true. I'm really enjoy the crowd, the fans are crazy, and they are very excited. Every match, the crowds are full every match. For me that's help me to fight. I remember in the final two years ago when I was two sets to one down and they help me, started cheering more for me than Roger, and that's help me a lot to win the final.
Commenting on Venus Williams…
ANDY RODDICK: Well, yeah, that's a question that probably warrants more of my time than I have to give right now. I mean, if you think about their story, if you actually think about it, I think we take it for granted. A lot of times they've drawn a lot of criticism. But, trust me, five years, when they're gone, everyone is going to miss them. Everyone is going to realize they're going to be living legends for the rest of their lives. Two girls from Compton dominating tennis, that's not an everyday story, the way they've gone about it. Venus is just the epitome of class, the way she's gone about it. I don't think she's ever even had a sniff of controversy around her. She's just done it the right way… I mean, obviously when I think of her I think of Wimbledon. I feel like that's just where she belongs. You know, it just seems right there. My memories are a lot different. My memories are when we're 10 years old and we're on the courts next to each other and it was all ahead of us. There was all this hype around these two girls but they weren't playing tournaments, so everyone was talking about how good they were, how good they weren't. Everyone had an opinion. Turns out they were pretty good.
Commenting on the news of Venus Williams’ withdrawal due to Sjogren’s Syndrome…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, I don't think either one of us really knows how serious it is. Hopefully it is not. I hope that it's not obviously the end of her career. I still feel like, although she's a bit older, she's still one of the fittest players on tour and one of the most dangerous when she's playing well. It's obviously tough in sport. I always mention how important health is. Yeah, it's just the way it goes sometimes.
Commenting on the news that Venus Williams has Sjogren’s Syndrome…
SERENA WILLIAMS: I know she's a fighter and she's really strong. She's great. I think she's really happy now that she knows what it is after all this time. I think, if anything, it's gonna help her now to treat it and go forward.
Commenting on whether it’s harder to deal with being injured herself or Venus being sick…
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think both are definitely, you know, tough. I mean, when you're sick you're going through it and you're thinking, Gosh, this really, really is annoying. Then so when it's so close to you like Venus is going through it, it's like, Man, I'd rather it be me so she can be healthy. At least that's how I think. But, you know, so each has its different emotions, and all I can do is just, to me really, is just pray.
Commenting after losing to Flavia Pennetta in three sets in the third round…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Um, yeah, I made way too many unforced errors. I fought back to get myself back in the match in the third set. I think the first three, four games on every game I had a chance to win that game, whether it was a breakpoint or it was a game point on my serve, and I didn't win those games. When you're done 1 4 and you get yourself back in a position where can you win again and start making errors, it's just too inconsistent to win the match against her… It's disappointing. It's disappointing to lose in the middle of nowhere. It's disappointing to lose in New York. Losing isn't fun for anyone because we work to win. We don't work to try to lose. So when we're faced with a position where, you know, we can win and we didn't in the end, it's tough. But it's all right.
Commenting on her thoughts when she’s behind in a match…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I never think I'm gonna lose the match, no matter if I'm 1 4 or 0 5. I don't have that mentality that I'm gonna lose no matter how bad or how good I'm playing. You can't have that mentality.
Clarifying a quote from his new book…
RAFAEL NADAL: But I always say just when you are in a tough situations, you know, try to choose the right thing to do in every moment, the right election. If you have to serve wide, serve wide. Do the right things, you know, because sometimes you think that you want to play three shots to the backhand of the opponent, and at the last moment for the nerves, for everything, you decide to change to the other side. So try to be enough calm to do what you want to do.
Commenting on his strong career tie-breaker record…
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, in practice actually you do play quite a bit of tiebreakers, because you finish, and, Okay, let's play one more tiebreak. It's never the same like playing one in a match, because I think the pretiebreak, what you go through is very important, you know. Are you coming into this tiebreaker with a good feeling? Are you coming in it with, you know, like with a lot of doubts? I think that has a big impact on how you play the tiebreaker. I mean, as much as it is important to finish strong, I think the beginning is vital. In a tiebreak people always say the big servers have an advantage. Maybe to a degree I think that's the case. But you have to try to take all the right decision in that very short period of time you have left in a tiebreaker. I mean, I've messed up many tiebreakers in my life, but I'm happy I also played some great ones. Like for instance, the French Open final one against Soderling when I hit three or four aces and everything kind of worked. You just hope they happen at the right time. And actually in Grand Slams, tiebreak record is actually I think very good. That's key.
Commenting on whether he watches tennis…
ROGER FEDERER: When I'm on vacation, none. When I'm at home, none. When I'm at tournaments, I watch a lot. That's kind of how it is.
Commenting on the fact that she hates to lose…
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I just hate losing. But I think sometimes when you lose it propels you to more wins. Like when I lost at Wimbledon, I was determined to do better. So it works.
Talking about playing tennis at the 2012 Olympics at Wimbledon…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's a big goal. There is still quite a lot of time up to Olympics. But still, you know, I do think about Olympics. I'm really looking forward to it. I had this privilege to be part of the Serbian Olympic team in Beijing, and I had a bronze medal from that competition. It was incredible experience, like nothing else. Only thing that I'm sad about is that tennis tournament goes only for a week. So we don't get to stay that much. But the whole atmosphere, you know, everything about it, the whole world of sport, not just the sport, the whole world is looking at the Olympic Games for those couple weeks. Wow, it's just different. You know, you represent your country. You have the national colors. It's beautiful competition.
Commenting on how he handles his new, increased popularity…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I would just add, you know, depends how you accept it. Again, depends how you use your experience being around the tour and how to handle this popularity. Of course, there is a lot of temptations. There is everyday situations that you can easily get carried away by those. But it's important to keep the things very simple. That's what I do. I know that with success there's a lot of attention, obviously.
Commenting on whether he has read his new book that recently came out in English…
RAFAEL NADAL: Seriously, I didn't. I'm gonna be… I need to be big concentration to read the book in English, and I know my life. I will read when that happen in Spanish. Very soon. I will. I will do it because I am interest how it works, no, how is writed, no?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Confidence, you know, comes with execution. So, I mean, to come out and win a first round match, that helps a lot. Being in tight situations helps a lot. But the good part is that at least I have experience, and that helps with my confidence, that I know how to handle situations and scenarios. That gives me definitely more confidence than maybe someone with less experience. I think I can't worry about that. These are the cards I have, so I have to do the best with what I have, play my best in every moment.
Commenting on how long she and sister, Serena Williams, will keep playing…
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, I would be so upset if she retired. She could never do that to me. We have to go out together. But we've decided we're not going to lead a traditional career. We haven't to this point, so we won't. So we're going to play past the limit that anyone has ever played, and when our singles game goes, we'll continue to dominate in doubles, hopefully bring home more majors in that. So we've decided to just enjoy tennis. It's such an honor. We'll do it as long as we can. Right now the end is not really in sight.
Responding to comments that she needs to develop a big shot to win a Grand Slam…
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: They can say what they want. I'm the type of player I am. I've won a lot of tournaments. I'm No. 1 in the world, and of course I can still improve. There are a lot of things to my game I can still improve, but everyone can. You know, I'm on the right track. I just go out there and I play the way I do, and, you know, hopefully that's good enough.
Commenting on whether being Number one is a burden or an honor…
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No. It's definitely an honor, and it's a dream for me to be there. You know, I'm trying to stay up there as long as possible, and doesn't really matter what people are saying. No one can ever take that away from me. I'm No. 1 in the world. I have been there for 46 weeks. So, I mean, that's a great achievement.
Commenting on whether he sometimes doesn’t feel like going out to play…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: There is always those days, you know, where you don't want to get up and, you know, you don't feel like playing. It's normal, you know. Everybody has those days. Bad days in the office, if you want to call them. But, you know, in the end it's yours job. It's your profession. You have to do it. You go on the court especially if you're playing big tournaments, big matches, you have to try to play your best. That's something that, you know, always keeps me motivated, the will to win.
Commenting on whether the women or men should play the first match during the night session…
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I think the guys should play second. They're guys. We're ladies. We're ladies. They should totally play second all the time. Ladies, you open the door for ladies. They should go second. It's ridiculous.
Commenting on why the U.S. Open is his favorite tournament…
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. When I was so young, I so want to be at this tournament, I say, Okay, this is my favorite. It will be a dream if I win this tournament, and then the dream comes true. I'm really enjoy the crowd, the fans are crazy, and they are very excited. Every match, the crowds are full every match. For me that's help me to fight. I remember in the final two years ago when I was two sets to one down and they help me, started cheering more for me than Roger, and that's help me a lot to win the final.
Commenting on Venus Williams…
ANDY RODDICK: Well, yeah, that's a question that probably warrants more of my time than I have to give right now. I mean, if you think about their story, if you actually think about it, I think we take it for granted. A lot of times they've drawn a lot of criticism. But, trust me, five years, when they're gone, everyone is going to miss them. Everyone is going to realize they're going to be living legends for the rest of their lives. Two girls from Compton dominating tennis, that's not an everyday story, the way they've gone about it. Venus is just the epitome of class, the way she's gone about it. I don't think she's ever even had a sniff of controversy around her. She's just done it the right way… I mean, obviously when I think of her I think of Wimbledon. I feel like that's just where she belongs. You know, it just seems right there. My memories are a lot different. My memories are when we're 10 years old and we're on the courts next to each other and it was all ahead of us. There was all this hype around these two girls but they weren't playing tournaments, so everyone was talking about how good they were, how good they weren't. Everyone had an opinion. Turns out they were pretty good.
Commenting on the news of Venus Williams’ withdrawal due to Sjogren’s Syndrome…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, I don't think either one of us really knows how serious it is. Hopefully it is not. I hope that it's not obviously the end of her career. I still feel like, although she's a bit older, she's still one of the fittest players on tour and one of the most dangerous when she's playing well. It's obviously tough in sport. I always mention how important health is. Yeah, it's just the way it goes sometimes.
Commenting on the news that Venus Williams has Sjogren’s Syndrome…
SERENA WILLIAMS: I know she's a fighter and she's really strong. She's great. I think she's really happy now that she knows what it is after all this time. I think, if anything, it's gonna help her now to treat it and go forward.
Commenting on whether it’s harder to deal with being injured herself or Venus being sick…
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think both are definitely, you know, tough. I mean, when you're sick you're going through it and you're thinking, Gosh, this really, really is annoying. Then so when it's so close to you like Venus is going through it, it's like, Man, I'd rather it be me so she can be healthy. At least that's how I think. But, you know, so each has its different emotions, and all I can do is just, to me really, is just pray.
Commenting after losing to Flavia Pennetta in three sets in the third round…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Um, yeah, I made way too many unforced errors. I fought back to get myself back in the match in the third set. I think the first three, four games on every game I had a chance to win that game, whether it was a breakpoint or it was a game point on my serve, and I didn't win those games. When you're done 1 4 and you get yourself back in a position where can you win again and start making errors, it's just too inconsistent to win the match against her… It's disappointing. It's disappointing to lose in the middle of nowhere. It's disappointing to lose in New York. Losing isn't fun for anyone because we work to win. We don't work to try to lose. So when we're faced with a position where, you know, we can win and we didn't in the end, it's tough. But it's all right.
Commenting on her thoughts when she’s behind in a match…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I never think I'm gonna lose the match, no matter if I'm 1 4 or 0 5. I don't have that mentality that I'm gonna lose no matter how bad or how good I'm playing. You can't have that mentality.
Clarifying a quote from his new book…
RAFAEL NADAL: But I always say just when you are in a tough situations, you know, try to choose the right thing to do in every moment, the right election. If you have to serve wide, serve wide. Do the right things, you know, because sometimes you think that you want to play three shots to the backhand of the opponent, and at the last moment for the nerves, for everything, you decide to change to the other side. So try to be enough calm to do what you want to do.
Commenting on his strong career tie-breaker record…
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, in practice actually you do play quite a bit of tiebreakers, because you finish, and, Okay, let's play one more tiebreak. It's never the same like playing one in a match, because I think the pretiebreak, what you go through is very important, you know. Are you coming into this tiebreaker with a good feeling? Are you coming in it with, you know, like with a lot of doubts? I think that has a big impact on how you play the tiebreaker. I mean, as much as it is important to finish strong, I think the beginning is vital. In a tiebreak people always say the big servers have an advantage. Maybe to a degree I think that's the case. But you have to try to take all the right decision in that very short period of time you have left in a tiebreaker. I mean, I've messed up many tiebreakers in my life, but I'm happy I also played some great ones. Like for instance, the French Open final one against Soderling when I hit three or four aces and everything kind of worked. You just hope they happen at the right time. And actually in Grand Slams, tiebreak record is actually I think very good. That's key.
Commenting on whether he watches tennis…
ROGER FEDERER: When I'm on vacation, none. When I'm at home, none. When I'm at tournaments, I watch a lot. That's kind of how it is.
Commenting on the fact that she hates to lose…
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I just hate losing. But I think sometimes when you lose it propels you to more wins. Like when I lost at Wimbledon, I was determined to do better. So it works.
Talking about playing tennis at the 2012 Olympics at Wimbledon…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's a big goal. There is still quite a lot of time up to Olympics. But still, you know, I do think about Olympics. I'm really looking forward to it. I had this privilege to be part of the Serbian Olympic team in Beijing, and I had a bronze medal from that competition. It was incredible experience, like nothing else. Only thing that I'm sad about is that tennis tournament goes only for a week. So we don't get to stay that much. But the whole atmosphere, you know, everything about it, the whole world of sport, not just the sport, the whole world is looking at the Olympic Games for those couple weeks. Wow, it's just different. You know, you represent your country. You have the national colors. It's beautiful competition.
Commenting on how he handles his new, increased popularity…
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I would just add, you know, depends how you accept it. Again, depends how you use your experience being around the tour and how to handle this popularity. Of course, there is a lot of temptations. There is everyday situations that you can easily get carried away by those. But it's important to keep the things very simple. That's what I do. I know that with success there's a lot of attention, obviously.
Commenting on whether he has read his new book that recently came out in English…
RAFAEL NADAL: Seriously, I didn't. I'm gonna be… I need to be big concentration to read the book in English, and I know my life. I will read when that happen in Spanish. Very soon. I will. I will do it because I am interest how it works, no, how is writed, no?
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