US Open – Random Tennis Player Statements

Written by: Staff on 30th August 2011

US Open - Random Tennis Player Statements |

(Courtesy of USTA)

“I’m loving it. I mean, I have two younger sisters who are always really loud and everything, so I’m
kind of used to noise. So I love it.”
— Madison Keys, 16, who won her first Grand Slam match yesterday, on handling the craziness of
New York

“Sometimes I feel like it’s a great experience for me to be in this position. I’m having a ton of fun with
it. But sometimes I feel like I’m playing with house money a little bit just because I just would never
have imagined two years ago, in 2009, not even having to come back here [following knee surgery], to
be in this position. So it’s great. It’s just great.”
— Mardy Fish, after his first-round victory, on playing the 2011 US Open as the top-ranked
American

“I had part of my family in different areas [of Court 17], and friends. It was nice. Whatever side of the
court I was on, I always had someone that was cheering me on.”
— Christina McHale, who lives in New Jersey, after her first-round victory over Aleksandra
Wozniak

“It’s always nerve-wracking to play the first match after a layoff in a major. It’s not really my first
choice at all. But I just tried to rely on experience and just tried to get after it. So I was pleased with
the level.”
— Venus Williams, on winning the first match she’s played since Wimbledon

“It’s obviously pretty disappointing to be out of here when half the people haven’t even arrived yet
with the hurricane. But there’s a lot of positives from last year [to this year]. It’s one match, you know.
That’s what I tell myself now. … So it’s just a matter of me moving forward and proving and trusting
that what I can do is gonna get me to the top.”
— Ryan Harrison, after falling to No. 27 seed Marin Cilic in the first round in a match that
began at 11 a.m.

Serena Williams: “Well, I played a little bit in the rain. I went to Park Avenue because it was
empty and danced a little bit in the streets. It was kinda fun.”

Mardy Fish: “Stacey (Fish’s wife) went to shop quite a bit, got a bunch of magazines and
flashlights. She [was] preparing for Armageddon, I think.”

Maria Sharapova: “I went to the gym, I did a little workout, I played with my dog, I had room
service. Everything else was just about closed. Everything that was open was completely
packed. There’s an antique store open down the street, which I thought was probably the
best day of their life because of everyone walking around. They never thought they were
going to sell that old giraffe that’s been there for a 100 years. Even my dog kept like going
back to his little bag. It kind of freaked me out because that’s a sign he wanted to go home.
Maybe the hurricane was going to be bad. We were lucky that it was just a little rain.”