They Said It - Memorable Quotes from the 2008 US Open

Every year the most elite tennis players from all over the world flock to Queens to compete in the US Open. Since hundreds of matches take place over the two-week period, it goes without saying that the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center becomes a hot-bed of media activity.
 
With that many interviews taking place, there always seems to be some overly memorable questions and answers from the reporters and athletes.
 
 Obviously, when you have so many international athletes coming in to the city, travel is always an issue. Ana Ivanovic has been pretty busy the past few months and has apparently been racking up the frequent flier miles, as was learned after her Aug. 26 match.
Question: Do you think your frequent flier mileage helped attribute to your near scare today?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I think I can have the whole next year free.

James Blake is no stranger to travel himself, having just returned from an exciting Olympic experience over in China.
Question: How, if at all, did the Olympics change your preparation for the Open relative to other years?
JAMES BLAKE: Well, it changed my sleep patterns a little, being 12 hours away.

The problem with extensive travel is that it can take a toll on the body, as David Ferrer found out after his Aug. 30 loss to Kei Nishikori.
Question: How is your condition?
DAVID FERRER: My condition? Now I'm not too much happy, but it's OK, no?

 
Ana Ivanovic took a different approach to fitness and apparently got into some serious cross training recently.
Question: Your fitness training has been very important for you the last couple of years. Were you able to keep that up, even though you didn't play, or did you even do more because you were bored?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I was complaining a lot because I was doing only physical. And I said, 'Can I go on the court at least?' So we were doing lots of stuff at specific moments on the court. But, yeah, we were making jokes at Olympics. I should try compete something else because I was just doing running and sprints.

On the men’s side, it seems that Andy Murray has been hitting the weight room pretty hard recently, which one astute reporter was quick to pick up on.
Question: At the end, flexed your muscles like Popeye. Is it spinach? Is it more lifting or in that moment for you is it just a lot of relief?
ANDY MURRAY: There are a lot of different emotions going through your head. When you're training and wondering why you do all the work and feeling sorry for yourself and what have you, and you kind of push through and keep working. Then when you have moments like that on the court, you know, you feel like it's all worth it. It's sort of more a sign to my fitness trainers and the team that's around me.
Question: Any spinach or organic materials?
ANDY MURRAY: No

Luckily for Murray, his forehand shot was looking even more impressive than Popeye’s forearms. On the flip side, there is Andy Roddick, who has been trying to come back from some nagging injuries. One reporter took sympathy and had this friendly exchange with the American.
Question: What is the physical report, your shoulder and your back?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, good, Bud. What's your physical report?
Question: Fair.
ANDY RODDICK: Fair?

Question: Fair. I'm on a crutch.
ANDY RODDICK: I feel like I'm better than you right now.

Question: Absolutely. I wouldn't want to play you today?
ANDY RODDICK: Maybe not in spirit, though.

Question: You're OK, though?
ANDY RODDICK: I'm good, Bud.

Question: Everything's fine?
ANDY RODDICK: I'm awesome, thank you.

But no matter how physically fit an athlete is, nothing can stop the inevitable issue of perspiration out on the court. And while changing clothes isn’t “technically” allowed, there are ways around that rule, as Anne Keothavong learned during her Aug. 27 match.
Question: What do you think when she went off for what looked like a change of clothes? That's not actually legal to do that, is it?
ANNE KEOTHAVONG: Well, the umpire told me she ?? it was an emergency toilet break, and those kind of situations, there's not really a lot you can do. If she needed a toilet, she needed a toilet.

Truer words have never been spoken. And while we’re on the topic of speaking the truth, Gail Brodsky recently came clean on her experience with press conferences.
Question: This is your biggest press conference, probably, in your life?
GAIL BRODSKY: This is my only press conference.

Before they get to the press conferences, the athletes must first play the match. As with any sport, the post-match press conference is much more enjoyable after a win. Often a win is the result of pure grit, determination, hard work and talent. Sometimes, though, it just can’t be explained.
Question: Why are you winning these matches?
GILLES MULLER: Why?

Question: Yeah.
GILLES MULLER: That's a good question.

Another way to win a match is to cause your opponent as many problems as possible, but sometimes you just can’t cause enough.
Question: You caused quite a few problems there.
ANNE KEOTHAVONG: Yeah, I guess so. It would have been nice to have caused her a few more problems.

Maybe next time, Keothavong will steal Dementieva’s racquet before the match to add additional problems. And speaking of problems, it’s safe to say that getting hit by flying tennis balls is a bit of an occupational hazard and could be considered a problem in pro tennis. Luckily for Andy Murray, he’s pretty tough.
Question: Did it hurt when the ball hit you?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. It was only like a 90 mile?an?hour serve. I think it's probably the first time it's happened in a match, where I was hit by a serve. I can't remember being hit by one before. I nearly got hit a couple of times, actually. I couldn't really see his serve that well.

Question: You didn't take it personally?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really.

Anything above 90 mph, though, and the gloves would’ve come off. It turns out that Murray loves a good brawl from time to time.
Question: I know you are a fight fan, did you get to see any of the boxing competition (at the Olympics)?
ANDY MURRAY: After I lost, I went to watch boxing and badminton. I saw a couple British guys fight. I enjoyed that.

Andy Roddick, on the other hand, prefers a good game of baseball over a boxing match, which led to this awkward exchange with one reporter.
Question: You're a baseball fan, and you hear guys say, "Mr. October." Certain people can produce when the pressure is on.
ANDY RODDICK: Sure.

Question: Same thing in tennis?
ANDY RODDICK: Same thing in any sport.

Question: Any sport?
ANDY RODDICK: You know, you can ?? I mean, the examples are probably endless, but, you know, it's not so much just about the timing. You have to put in the work to be able to perform well on a certain stage, and, you know, I'm getting there. I'm getting to the point where the last two were good. They were tough, and, you know, I was able to kind of play well in the tight moments.

Question: What month are you?
ANDY RODDICK: Sorry?

Question: What month are you?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I don't know. We play tennis from January to November, so pick one.
 
After the baseball season comes the NBA season, and we learned that at least one athlete at the Open has some hoop dreams of his own.
Question: So why did you give up becoming an NBA All?Star or European All?Star in place of tennis?
GÄEL MONFILS: Maybe after my career I will think to be in NBA. I love the NBA. I love the show they give the player. I mean, maybe in tennis sometime it's too stiff, like some guys wants to keep the emotion.

People who didn’t know Monfils before the Open definitely know him now, as he put on quite a show in his matches. But the US Open isn’t always just about the athletes putting on a show. Sometimes the fans, for better or worse, add to the entertainment.
Question: What prompted the comment after the match about "people need to get a room"? Did I hear that right? Did you catch something down the court?
ANDY RODDICK: I think, he was making reference to, I guess, the rambunctious nature of the crowd, and literally it's the first time I've seen it here. I looked up, and there's girls on the big screen dancing on top of their tables in the suite and some guy and girl freak dancing in the corner. I was like, "This is great." Might as well get a win while we're out here. It felt like a party in the stadium on switchovers.
 
Crowd noise isn’t always entertaining, though. Every now and then, a rabid fan can go overboard.
Question: Did you hear the guy heckling you?
ANDY MURRAY: Heckling me?

Question: Yeah.
ANDY MURRAY: I don't think he was heckling me.

Question: Something about you and the Queen, I think.
ANDY MURRAY: No, I think he was heckling Llodra. I think he said something like, "Go back to France." You know, the Queen's supporting you or something. I don't know. I don't think he was heckling me. I think it was more towards him.

To avoid heckling, it helps to amuse the fans with more than just top-notch tennis play.
Question: Last year, the crowds loved you. You were doing the impersonations.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not any more.

Feeling the love must be overrated. But if the fans love a player, often they’ll take it upon themselves to dub him or her with a nickname (i.e., Fed-Ex, The Joker). American Sam Querrey got appropriately named “Uncle Sam” by his loyal fans.
Question: I'm curious if you have any nieces or nephews so that we know whether you're actually Uncle Sam?
SAM QUERREY: No, I don't. Oh, wait. No, no. I only have a sister who's younger than me. Some of my cousins had, like, some kids, and I was just spacing.

So with that said, enough space has been taken up here. There were plenty of other memorable quotes from the 2008 US Open, but these are some of the best. To see the others check out the “News & Photos” section on USOpen.org and click on “Interviews.”