By Charles David Mathieu-Poulin
MONTREAL – While Serena Williams preferred to skip the Rogers Cup, she is one everyone’s mind in Montreal….
Samantha Stosur talked about the American, whom she beat in the US Open final last year: ‘’While she isn’t number one on paper, she is certainly playing like one. But she is human, you can beat her. You have to do certain things perfectly. What they are? I won’t reveal that!‘’
Azarenka, who just lost to Williams at the Olympics added: ‘’Is she unbeatable? At the Olympics she was. But not everywhere, we’ll see in the upcoming weeks.’’
Kvitova finally summarized everyone’s opinion in a few words: ‘’She’s the Big Boss!’’.
Maria Sharapova was particularly talkative earlier today in her pre-tournament interview: here are a few of her best quotes.
On Montreal: ‘’I really like this city: it’s very European with everyone speaking French. I hope to have the chance to visit a bit more in the next week.’’
On the feeling of completing her personal Grand Slam by winning the French Open earlier this year: ‘’Fortunately, the only four [Grand Slams] I won were all different!’’
On the criticism about her grunting, notably: ‘’We will always be criticized. We will always be praised. But it’s part of our job and we get used to it.’’
On what makes her different than the player she was at 16 years old: ‘’Definitely experience. Experience in priceless in tennis. I’ve had tougher times, I’ve had wins and losses. When you are younger, you find an easy way out. And then you realize you can’t always do that.’’
For most of the players, Montreal marks their first hard court tournament after the grass season. Some are happy about it, some aren’t…
Samantha Stosur: ‘’I much prefer this surface! I’ve never played Montreal before, but I’m assuming it won’t be different than Toronto. ‘’
Angelique Kerber: ‘’I’m happy to be back on hard courts, my favorite surface. I’m quite ready for the US Open Series.’’
Petra Kvitova: ‘’Outdoor hard courts are more difficult for me: the sun, the wind, the changing conditions. Here in North America,the surface is also slower and it’s much more humid.’’
Sara Errani: ‘’Hardcourt is not my favorite surface, but I do like it more than grass!’’.
And finally, the quote of the day goes to first seed Victoria Azarenka.
Asked about her preparation for this tournament, the world number one replied: ‘’Honestly, I’ve just landed. Right now I’m just trying to think straight.’’
Charles David Mathieu-Poulin blogs for WtaQuebec www.wtaquebec.com, a website promoting local Quebec players. He is covering the Rogers Cup in Montreal for Tennis Panorama News. Follow him on twitter @earthstroke, follow his Montreal coverage on @TennnisNewsTPN.