INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - On-court action and drama weren't the only memories we were left with from Indian Wells. After their matches, the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour gave us something to think about in their press conferences. The following, in no particular order, are ome of the best quotes.
"It took me a while to understand what was happening, for the French Open and No.1 to sink in. At Wimbledon I was emotionally flat, and it was very hard for me to bring myself to a high level like at the French Open. Then I struggled with injury. I expected myself to play at the same level right when I was healthy again, but that wasn't the case. After you lose some matches you lose confidence. I didn't have a clear picture of the way my game should be, but now I think I have that back. Some days I may make more mistakes than others, but that's the game that brought me so far, and the game I have to stick with."
- Ana Ivanovic, who has had up and down results since winning her first Grand Slam title at last year's French Open and subsequently rising to No.1, but at Indian Wells she put almost all of those questions to rest with a run to the final.
"I don't know. I wish I had a magic stick and could just fix my game and play awesome tennis again. I would like it to be that way, but sometimes it's not."
- Jelena Jankovic, when asked how long it will take her to get back to the form that took her to No.1 in the world last year. The Serb, currently ranked No.3, hasn't been past the semifinals of any tournament this year.
"It's hard to say. You need to ask my parents about that. But on the court we are different. I try to play more aggressively and I'm more emotional on the court, and she's more quiet. Off the courts I think we're similar. We have the same style and we like the same things. Off court we are actually almost the same."
- Urszula Radwanska, when asked whether she and her sister, Agnieskza, are similar. Urszula, 18, cracked the Top 100 for the first time after reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells; Agnieszka, 20, has spent time in the Top 10 already, and is currently ranked No.11 after a quarterfinal finish in the desert.
"The image I had in my head was actually Nadal, the way he plays all the time. No matter what, he fights. You can see it. For me, it's the best mentality anybody has ever had. I was just trying to fight as well as him, and it worked well for me."
- Victoria Azarenka, commenting on the composure she displayed during her upset of Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals, where she rallied from 3-1 down in the third set to notch her sixth and biggest Top 10 victory.
"We've known each other since we were like 10, 11 years old. We went for dinner last night, as well. We're really close friends. We were making fun of each other, that the match was going to be postponed until noon, and that we'd lock each other up in the bathroom, and all that. It was just for fun."
- Caroline Wozniacki, on her friendship with Urszula Radwanska. The pair would play in the fourth round, with Wozniacki prevailing in a tight two-setter.
"I just kept fighting, kept fighting. This is a special place for me, so I just didn't want to lose. I always try to fight it a little bit extra here. This is my place and I just don't want to leave. It definitely helped I was playing here."
- Daniela Hantuchova on her opening match, where she rallied from two match points down to beat Yanina Wickmayer in a third set tie-break. Hantuchova has won two of her three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles at Indian Wells.
"It was just shoe shopping, because I stopped with clothes. I have too many clothes. It's a joke. In Paris, I can't close my wardrobe already. I have to find another room to put my stuff in or something, or create something new, or just get rid of the stuff I bought in the past. It's really bad. I said to my mom and all of my friends, I've stopped with clothes. So this time I just bought shoes."
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on what she did during a day off between matches at Indian Wells.
"I don't really think about it. I've been doing this for 15 years. I'm working hard. For me, the most important thing is to be able to go out there and execute my game to prove I can do it, to show what kind of tennis I can play. It's mostly for myself, because I know I'm capable of doing it. Today I had to go on the court and prove it. That's much more important to me than the $700,000."
- Vera Zvonareva, when asked how she feels about the prize money cheque for her ninth and biggest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at Indian Wells.
