QUESTIONING THE OBVIOUS: Asked immediately after his five-set loss to Yen-Hsun Lu if he would wake up disappointed the next day, Andy Roddick said, “I’m going to be thrilled. I mean, c’mon…Of course I’m going to be pissed off when I wake up tomorrow. I mean, if you got fired from your job, you probably wouldn’t wake up the next day in a great mood. I mean, c’mon, let’s go. We’re better than those questions.”…A reporter asked Venus Williams, “Was there a reason you went for a bathroom break after the first change?” Said Venus, “Well, bathroom breaks are for, you know, bathroom. No explanation needed for that.”
FEAR ITSELF: As for any commonalities between the Chernobyl disaster to the BP oil spill in the Gulf, Siberian Maria Sharapova reflected: “It’s the fear that’s in people’s minds and the fear that no one really understands what’s going on, and that leads to a poor quality of life.”
NOW THERE’S A KID WITH AMBITION: Asked which Grand Slam he dreamed of winning as a kid, Swede Robin Soderling shot back, “All of them. Many times.”
EARTH TO KIMMY, DO YOU READ US?: Asked where she was in the first set of her 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgian rival Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters confessed, “I was out there somewhere, but I’m not quite sure.”
NO FAULT OF MINE: Reflecting on her infamous foot-fault call at the ’09 U.S. Open, Serena Williams asserted, “I don’t foot fault. I haven’t foot faulted since before or after that.”
STAYING NEUTRAL: When Roger Federer was discussing the problematic officiating at the World Cup, the Swiss cautioned, “Have to be careful. Who is the head of the FIFA? I don’t remember. Is he a Swiss guy by any chance?”
THE NUMBERS
0: Grass courts in Bulgaria, home to Tsvetana Pironkova, who upset Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the Wimbledon quarters.
QUOTEBOOK
“It never gets easier.” — Andy Roddick on dealing with losses at the Slams
“Wimbledon has always been, you know, like a religion to me.” — Tsvetana Pironkova
“I’m really proud myself to share this victory with him in the sky. I hope he see this match.” — Yen-Hsun Lu, whose father passed away the year he turned pro in 2000
“He’s always got something.” — Lleyton Hewitt on Novak Djokovic, who complained of a stomach ailment during his 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over the Aussie
“If I could serve like him, I’d be a star.” — Serena Williams on marathon man John Isner
“For the most part, I rock and roll this game.” — Venus Williams
“I hate hanging on to that feeling when you lose, so I try to put that feeling behind. Learn from the loss, but not hang on to the bad feeling of losing…That’s kind of been my motto the last few years — to learn from it but not hang on to it.” — Venus Williams
