Quotes 7/18/08
Ai Sugiyama
On the uncharacteristic ending to the match …
“It was really tough for me…Unfortunately, she had to stop when she felt some cramping and I couldn’t really finish but it was a long match.”
On how her conditioning helped her during the match …
“I wasn’t really feeling heavy and was moving quite well from the beginning of the match. Even at the end, I felt pretty fresh and kept eating my energy bar throughout the match. We were similar types and whoever could run and get back to the ball more was going to win. We had a really good match today.”
On how her conditioning helped her during the match …
“I try not to think about my age when I step on the court. I do realize sometimes when I wake up that my body is aching here and there. Once I warm up and get to the match, I don’t feel like I’m 33. I don’t know what other 33-year-old women feel like.”
On where she stands in the tournament …
“Being in the semis is good. Just focusing on every single match and if I can keep improving on what I have to improve, I think I can still go farther. I try to not be too happy about the semis because once you’re happy, then I think that is it.”
Serena Williams
On how her conditioning helped her during the match…
“It was definitely quick. With a player like Patty, you have to be quicker because she is such a big shot-maker you never know what is going to happen.”
Talking about an area of her game that she must work on…
“I don’t think I served well today. I hit four double-faults, which is more double-faults than I hit in all of my last tournament. I don’t hit double-faults as a rule. So it was weird for me to make all of those double-faults. It was kind of frustrating.”
On why she enjoys participating in the Bank of the West Classic…
“To be honest, it’s an easy draw. It’s four matches if you get a bye. It’s tough to come across a draw like that. Plus I’ve been here before and I thought the facility was so nice and just so relaxing. It’s such a relaxing tournament. So I thought it would be nice to play and not have too much stress.”
On what she does between matches…
“Nothing, just hanging out. No one can kill time they way I can. I’m a professional time-killer. I can sit for three hours and not be able to tell you what I did. I’m the best. If they had an Olympic sport, I would have been a 20-time gold medal champ.”
Aleksandra Wozniak
On whether or not she felt fatigued in the match…
“It was my sixth match in a row and I felt pretty tired after the first set. My serve let me down in the second and third but somehow I kept fighting through each point and trying to get to the balls even though my legs were tired. But at the end I think you have to stay tougher mentally than your opponent.”
On playing the same opponent twice in the same tournament …
“I didn’t feel any pressure coming into the match or anything. I was just like ‘hi again’ and ‘here we meet again in the quarterfinals.’ For me, it was a big deal to win that match again because I wanted to make lots of points and be a top-50 player and now I am very close to it.”
Marion Bartoli
On Anna Chakvetadze’s play…
“Against her you never know what to expect. Even when I was playing well in the second set she was still giving me a hard time every time. It was hard to keep my serve because she was playing so well in the rallies and it’s hard to ace her all the time. I kept my composure and just try and try and keep fighting and fighting."
On being happy about her play at the tournament…
“I have never been in a semifinal here so I am really happy about that. Tomorrow I have a tough match again against Ai. I have never beaten her but its time to change that now.”
On Ai Sugiyama’s toughness and experience…
“The key is for me to be more aggressive than her. I can’t just play from the baseline. I have to make her go inside the court, play some short angles, go to the net, mix it up like I did today. I don’t have to get into some rallies because she is so use to it and she can run for five hours in a row.”