Quotes To Remember from Wimbledon Fortnight

Ferocious forehands and blistering backhands weren't the only memories we were left with from Wimbledon this year. After their matches, the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour gave us something to think about in their press conferences. Below is a collection of some of the best quotes from The Championships.
 
"Now, especially as the top seed, lots of people expect me to win. When I tell them I still just want to play match by match, they think it's such a cliché. You have to work hard, especially on grass; everything is happening so fast and a lot of players can be dangerous. You have to be alert from the first point on."
Ana Ivanovic, after winning her first round match against Rossana de los Ríos on the first Monday.

"It's a real treat, honor and privilege. I'm really excited to be back here. I've had some of my greatest memories here. What began as a Grand Slam I probably liked the least turned into one I liked the most in the latter part of my career."
Lindsay Davenport on returning to play Wimbledon for the first time in three years, after winning her first round match. She would end up pulling out of the tournament prior to her second match with a right knee injury.

"It's good motivation for me to keep going as long as I can. I thank my parents. I also travel with my trainer, so I take good care of my body and train well. I have a massage every day. If I'm fit enough and play well enough to be Top 50, Top 30, Top 20, that's great. I don't just want to lose first round each time."
Ai Sugiyama on her longevity. The Japanese veteran played her 57th consecutive Grand Slam main draw at Wimbledon, the all-time record for men and women (the record had been held by the now-retired Wayne Ferreira, who got to 56).

"I do everything Venus does. I've tried to grow out of that, but I still kind of do everything that she does. She's playing for at least a long, long, long time, so we'll both be out here for a long time... We have decades left at Wimbledon."
Serena Williams, when asked whether she would still be playing if Venus wasn't, and how long she thinks they might play.

"It's guys. They always say the women's game is predictable. They always say women can't serve, don't go to the net, can't slice. No, we can do it all. We're strong. Don't listen to them."
Alla Kudryavtseva after pulling off a stunning upset over Maria Sharapova. She was asked to comment on the criticism that the women's game is predictable.

"I'd say she should train with Mr. Williams. That would definitely help, because he's a great coach. That would be my recommendation. He's a real innovator on the court. Serena and I were able to play the game he taught us. In essence it was Mr. Williams who changed women's tennis - we were just the students."
Venus Williams after beating Naomi Cavaday in the first round, when asked what advice she would give to Cavaday to reach the next level of women's tennis.

"For a second I thought I won because the ball stayed on the net for a tiny bit, and I didn't see clearly if it was going on my side or hers. Then I saw what happened. I thought, 'Gee, maybe there's somebody in the sky who helped her on that one.' But it's part of tennis; it's why this sport is so difficult but so beautiful at the same time."
Nathalie Dechy on one of the two match points she held against Ana Ivanovic leading by a set and 5-4, where Ivanovic hit a forehand that clipped the tape and dribbled over the net. Dechy would end up losing 10-8 in the third.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, I think so."
Amélie Mauresmo on whether she will compete at Wimbledon in 2009. The former world No.1, who won her two Grand Slam trophies at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, has slipped in the rankings after suffering a string of injuries over the last year. But she remains determined to keep plugging away.

"I love EleVen. EleVen is my baby. It's not even a year old. We have a funny little shirt that says 'EleVen since '07'. It's really only been out about eight months, so it's pretty exciting. I love what I'm wearing here and I look forward to being creative off the court. That's what I do."
Venus Williams on her clothing line EleVen, which she started last summer. She wore the line throughout the Championships, as did fellow player Nadia Petrova.

"I received a lot of messages. I have a lot of new friends. Well, not real friends, but I've got a lot of new friends. It's been fun. You get messages from people you didn't hear from for quite a while."
Alla Kudryavtseva after following up her second round win over Maria Sharapova with a third round win over Peng Shuai, and moving into the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her young career.

"I made some changes in my team and got a new coach. The changes needed some time. Results don't come overnight, so I'm definitely happy it has begun to pay off and I'm showing some progress."
Nicole Vaidisova, who didn't win a match during the clay court season but reached two quarterfinals in three grass court events, including at Wimbledon, where she beat Anna Chakvetadze in the fourth round but fell to Zheng Jie.

"Well, actually, they provide a lot of tournaments for us, but it's up to us if we want to play every single week or have a break and play only the big events. It's up to us. Nobody is pushing us. We can make our own schedule and take as much time as we need to to get ready to play a big event. It's nice to have so many tournaments and have a chance to pick which ones I want to play."
Elena Dementieva on whether or not the playing schedule on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is too demanding.

"I'm going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast. I'll eat all the Wheaties so she doesn't have any chance."
Serena Williams on how she would prepare for her match against Venus Williams in the ladies' singles final.

"I like that I'm in control of exactly what's happening. I definitely feel liberated in singles. Sometimes in doubles I feel a little closed in, if that makes sense."
Venus Williams on why she prefers singles to doubles. It didn't matter much however, as the Williams sisters followed up their all-Williams singles final by taking the doubles title as well, their seventh Grand Slam doubles title.

"It's great for Asia that we can provide great tennis here, and that it doesn't matter if you're two meters tall. This is how women's tennis is. You don't have to be the tallest player out there and you can do well."
Tamarine Tanasugarn, 5' 5" and the first ever Grand Slam quarterfinalist from Thailand. With the 5' 4 1/2" Zheng Jie reaching the semifinals, it was the first time in the Open Era that two Asian players reached the quarterfinals at a major.

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