Queen’s Club Quotes of the week
Andy Murray, describing how he feels about his form coming into Queen’s with an extra week between clay and grass: I feel, I think, more comfortable. Not just because of how the French went but because of the time between — you know, it’s like getting 10, 11 days after the French Open. It makes a really, really big difference compared with just having — literally, sometimes it was like one or two days. I mean, it was ridiculous, looking back at it, really.
Stan Wawrinka, asked before his first Queen’s match about whether he’s thinking about becoming the ninth man to win all four Grand Slams: No, except when people ask me the question. But, no, it’s a long, long way to be there. Win a Grand Slam, it’s tough. It’s really tough. Really difficult. You need to beat so many good players.
Milos Raonic, asked about what it would take for him to win a major: Being more emotional and be a bit more, let’s say, abrasive about it and really just go after it, not really try to hold anything back.
Thanasin Kokkinakis, asked about his many injuries: I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I’m over 30….A lot of people usually get injuries when they are older. Mine have been switched.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, asked for his list of favorites to win Wimbledon: There is a few guys who are able to do it, who did it in the past. Everybody knows who they are. But they have also some other guys who are able to play well. I think of course about Stan, about the young players like Thiem, Kyrgios, Zverev, and all of those.
Nick Kyrgios, asked how he was planning to spend the next few days after retiring from his first match: Dog & Fox.
Aljaz Bedene, asked if the first round is the best time to play Andy Murray on grass, while the court is still slick: I would prefer to play him in the final, really, or semi.
Kyle Edmund, asked if he could pick two or three key points that would have won him his first-round match against Denis Shapovalov: Well, basically the key points. Some 30-All points would be nice to win.
Denis Shapovalov, asked about his match against Kyle Edmund:
The crowd was unbelievable today. It was just fun to be out there.
Milos Raonic, asked about his first-round loss to Kokkinakis: I was a bit too passive.
Feliciano Lopez, asked about still playing at 35: When I was 30 years old, I thought, okay, I played already a long career, but if I want to still be success, I need to take care of myself. So I started to eat a little bit better, to take care of my body. I have a physio already for eight or nine years traveling with me every week. So I can explain about me, no? I have been, I would say, a little bit more professional in the last five or six years, because I knew the older I get, I have to take more care of myself.
Andy Murray, asked why he lost to lucky loser Jordan Thompson in the first round: He played better than me.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, asked why he lost to Gilles Müller in the first round: My opponent. He just played good tennis.
Sam Querrey, asked if he derives confidence at Queen’s from the title he won in 2010: You know, I don’t think the win from seven years ago has any effect on how I play today or going forward.
Marin Cilic, asked if the top five are the ones who will challenge him most at Wimbledon: It’s tough to say, because you have also Milos who is not in that group, and he had injury during the American tour, so, you know, he’s going to bounce back. He’s always going to play well there. You have guys like Dimitrov, Kyrgios, Zverev. They are all potentially tough players.
Feliciano Lopez, asked how he felt about winning the tournament after losing in the final three years ago: I think it’s the best week of my career, I would say. To win this tournament at this stage of my career, I mean, this is so amazing.
I was waiting so long to win this title. Queen’s is the best, I think. Outside of the Grand Slams, this is one of the most special tournaments. You feel the atmosphere here, all over the years, a tradition that this tournament, the players that have won in the past. For me to be here on Sunday holding the trophy, it’s the best feeling I can have.