Pro
Tennis Player
Quotes of the Week
( Photo credit: Art Seitz ©2010 )
Ana Ivanovic
January 31, 2012: "I'm a professional tennis player. I'm sure any other tennis player would say the same: We live for these matches. We're trying to dedicate all our life to this sport to come to the situation where we play a six-hour match for a Grand Slam title."
— Novak Djokovic, who relished the battle as much as his 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 marathon victory over Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final."
January 31, 2012: "I made a pretty smart decision, not walking out, right? That was pretty special. There's always ups and downs, now I'm up."
—Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, referencing a wake-up call conversation she had with her grandmother, who reportedly worked three jobs until she was 71, which inspired Azarenka to appreciate her wonderful pro tennis career rather than quit it when she was struggling.'.
January 31, 2012: "It's frustrating (to lose in the final), but I have a pretty good head on my shoulders in terms of having a good perspective on sport and life. And as hard as it is, and as much as you want to be the champion, there's only one. That's why the feeling is so special when you do achieve that. That's why the work is so hard and extreme. That's why the pleasure that you get and the excitement is what you work for, because you know how special it is."
—Maria Sharapova, philosophical after being demolished 6-3, 6-0 by Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open final.
January 23, 2012: "Lendl hit McEnroe hundreds of times with passing shots, and they always shook hands after matches. Jim Courier once hit me with an overhead in the warm-up. Be the tough 6’5” Czech we all expect you to be."
— Former world-class pro Jeff Tarango, now an ESPN analyst, critical of Tomas Berdych, who complained about being hit in the arm at close range by a bullet passing shot by Nicolas Almagro in their Australian Open fourth-round match and refused to shake hands with Almagro after the match."
January 23, 2012: "I didn’t know why I was playing because, you know, my dad was coaching me for a long time. He was the one that was pushing me. I didn’t find enjoyment for myself. I was finding enjoyment because I was winning, and other people were happy about it. Last year, my relationship with my dad got a lot better. And I think that helped me a lot with my tennis, to have peace, to be balanced in my life, to be balanced on the court, too."
— Vania King, a 22-year-old American doubles standout who upset 15th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open, confided that until recently she faced a different kind of strain, uncertain whether she shared the dream of her parents.
January 16, 2012: "I haven’t been on a date in forever. I can be super picky, never satisfied. It’s a little crazy right now because there’s so much going on that when I’m not playing tennis I don’t sleep because I’m always doing something."
— Serena Williams, confides that she’s suffering from a dating drought and is willing to try anyone "anywhere between 18 and 80, blond, purple or green."
January 16, 2012: "I hate to give credit to Lendl but [Murray] needed to do something out of the ordinary instead of going with the predictable re-tread. This is definitely something that was, to me, unexpected. I didn’t know that Lendl wanted to coach. He could bring something to the table, without a doubt. Lendl didn’t win a major until he was 24 and guess what? Murray is 24 right now."
— John McEnroe, saying world No. 4 Andy Murray, who has faltered badly in his three Grand Slam finals, may have made a smart move by hiring no-nonsense, eight-time major winner Ivan Lendl.
January 1, 2012: "I’m happy I’m getting older. I’d rather be 30 than 20, to be honest. Do you listen to your body more? Yes, you do. Are you more wise? Yes, you are. Are you more experienced? Yes. Do you have a thousand matches in your body? Yes, you do. You just go with what you have."
— Roger Federer, who turned 30 on Aug. 8, on the advantages of being an older athlete.
January 1, 2012: "I put everything aside to support him. If you count the times I did it, probably the number is in itself ridiculous. My passion was him, I gave myself completely, and I lost my balance ... People felt sorry for me and I could not even defend myself. It was as if I had lost my taste for things. I was trying to be numb towards life, not to feel pain. I did not even feel physical [pain]. A silly example: even when I was waxing, I did not even feel anything."
— Italian tennis standout, Flavia Pennetta, in her new autobiography Dritto al Cuore (Straight to the Heart), on her broken heart and busted romance with longtime boyfriend Carlos Moya, whom she discovered was having an affair with Spanish TV presenter Carolina Cerezuela.
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