Talk is Cheap: The Quotable Player	January 24, 2009 - 4:00 AM

As we near the completion of the third round, my colleague Tom Perrotta has gotten out the red pen for his mid-tournament report card. I’m supplementing his scorecard post by letting the players judge themselves – and each other – in their own words. Here, some notable quotes from Week 1 of the Australian Open, from the poignant (Jelena Dokic) to the snarky (Andy Roddick) to the outrageous (Marat ‘Most Stupid Thing I Ever Saw In My Life’ Safin):

Novak Djokovic, on Andy Murray being a hot pick to win the title in Melbourne:
“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 favorite next to Roger and Rafa and myself here at Australian Open.”

Jelena Dokic, on her remarkable return to form:
“I battled severe depression for about two years. Didn't play for months at a time. … But I think it's over. I think I dealt with everything. You know, I'm really enjoying my tennis. It doesn't really have anything to do with ranking, money or anything. I just really love the game.”

James Blake, who donated money to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, on the significance of the inauguration:
“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. … It was so great to see an African-American and a female running for the highest office in our country.”

Marat Safin, on being called for a foot fault during the third-set tiebreaker of his match with Roger Federer:
“Well, just unfortunately some people, they want to take five seconds of the camera and to show everybody that he's in the match. It's sad story. Just unfortunately it's the most stupid thing I ever saw in my life.”

Safin, on whether Federer is the greatest player of all time:
“I really hope for him to be, so I can tell the story to my kids that I played with him.”

Alisa Kleybanova, on the excitement she felt upsetting Ana Ivanovic:
“The moments that we train every day, we work hard and we live our life to be there and to play on this court, and for all those people that came to watch. Just the feelings that you get out there were amazing today.”

Serena Williams, on whether she’s able to handle the high temperatures better since she has slimmed down:
“No, I mean, maybe with the fat I would be able to, like, absorb more of the heat.”

Serena, on what she was thinking when her Friday doubles match was interrupted by a streaker:
“My eyes, my eyes, my innocent eyes.”

Andy Roddick, on the global significance of keeping the Australian Open in January:
“This is probably the biggest sporting event going on right now, with the exception of back home with the NFL.”

Roddick, in response to a journalist who commented that he looks “slimmer and trimmer”:
“You look good, too.”

Roddick, on whether he planned to stay up to watch President Obama’s inauguration:
“No, I’m sure they’ll get it done without me.”

Roger Federer, on whether he’s contending with unprecedented depth at the top of the men’s game:
“I know a lot of people are always saying like this seems like a tough generation right now with Murray, Djokovic, Rafa and everything. I don't think it's that much stronger than when I came about. We had Agassi, Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, Ferrero, Nalbandian, all these other guys." 

Federer, describing his off-season beach vacation and, in the process, breaking the hearts of lovesick Federer-philes the world over:
“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.” 

Rafael Nadal, on Melbourne and, indirectly, the hazards of being the stenographer when he’s not speaking in his native Spanish:
“I think is a calm city, big city, but at the same time calm. Problems with my English, no?  Calm? No. I think you understand more than my secretary.”

Jelena Jankovic, on Venus Williams’ surprise loss to previously unheralded Carla Suarez Navarro, and on not taking any opponents lightly:
“I thought that Carla Suarez played so well, and I was really impressed by how well she handled the pressure and how well she competed against a top player. … Everybody knows how to hold a racquet.”

Lleyton Hewitt, on his decision to have surgery on his left hip following the Olympics last August:
“As soon as I flew back from Beijing, I landed that morning, then that afternoon I was under the knife. If I was going to retire, then I wouldn't have had the surgery done. … It was something that, you know, if I want to still play tennis, then it had to be done."

Dinara Safina, on being close, but not that close, with her brother Marat:
“We do stay in the same hotel, yeah, but we're not sleeping in the same room.”

And a few mid-tournament awards:

WINNING QUOTE IN THE ‘NO KIDDING’ CATEGORY:
Bernard Tomic, on playing in sunglasses:
“I've started using them a little bit more.  It's good to wear them.  It protects your eyes.”

WINNING STORY IN THE ‘LOVE AT FIRST (HDTV) SIGHT’ CATEGORY:
Kimiko Date Krumm (who at age 38 has returned to tennis following an 11-year layoff), on how her husband, German professional auto racer Michael Krumm, first took an interest in her:
“He was watching me before we met, just watching the TV. He said to his friend, ‘I found [my] wife,’ already, before we met. After a few years later, we married. So he is always saying it's destiny.”

WINNING QUOTE IN THE ‘ACHIEVEMENTS IN HECKLING’ CATEGORY:
(Please note that most fan entries were disqualified because of inappropriate language.)
Fan at Federer-Safin match, yelling at Safin while he complained to the umpire:
“Suck it up, princess.”

WINNING QUOTE IN THE ‘BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE’ CATEGORY:
Nadia Petrova, on not regretting having traveled to the 2008 year-end championships in Doha as an alternate, even though she contracted meningitis afterwards:
“This year when I’ll be going there as one of the top eight, I’ll know what to expect.”

WINNING SIGN IN THE ‘ARE JOURNALISTS A LOWER LIFE-FORM?’ CATEGORY:
A posted notice near the pressroom table on which snacks are put out for the media every afternoon:
“Please be mindful that people are working to deadlines during the 5 p.m. feed.”

The phrase “5 p.m. feed” invokes the image of animals being led to the trough every time I read it. Of course, this does not prevent me from partaking of the goodies daily.

14 Comments