Our 10 favorite quotes from the first week at Roland Garros
It's been quite the first week at Roland Garros.
Stunning upsets -- most notably Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula going down -- marathon matches (Camila Osorio over Yulia Putintseva was an epic) and plenty of fascinating, and humorous, narratives and conversations in press.
We've combed through all the post-match press conferences through the early rounds in Paris, and these are our 10 favorite quotes.
"I would say that Thriller is one of them, because they were dancing in -- what is the name of the movie, like Turning 13 From 30?"
- Aryna Sabalenka on Thriller being one of her favorite Michael Jackson songs, following her dance-off with good friend Novak Djokovic. She loves it, in part, because it was featured prominently in the 2004 romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, which the World No. 1 mistakenly called Turning 13 From 30. Sabalenka added that the Jennifer Garner flick was her favorite movie when she was a teenager, and she fondly remembers watching it with her mom.
"Then I was upset because I've been getting Joe & the Juice every day. So I was a bit upset because my juice spilled. I didn't have my complete breakfast like I wanted to."
- Coco Gauff on the minor car accident she was in prior to her first-round match. Thankfully no one was injured, and she was able to laugh about it.
"My boyfriend is my coach, and he told me if I break through [the] Top 50, he'll propose. He's getting scared now."
- Yuliia Starodubtseva on her coach/boyfriend Pearse Dolan potentially popping the question soon. Starodubtseva came into the tournament ranked No. 55, and picked up the biggest win of her WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz career over second-seeded Rybakina.
"I'm sharing the truth. I'm sharing the facts. This is my life and this is my story."
- Oleksandra Oliynykova on her openness and honesty about the dire situation in her native Ukraine.
"Everything is starstruck here. It's starstruck to be here, right? Maybe one day I'll wake up and it will all sink in."
- Iva Jovic, still 18, on the magnitude of playing the French Open.
"Sometimes people say athletes are in show business, or are entertainers. I feel like for me, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I'm an entertainer."
- Naomi Osaka on her latest fashion statement, which included a black corset, a cascading skirt and a layered gold dress that was striped with sequins.
"First of all, how do you guys know about this? This is, like ... do you have spies around, or what?"
- Marta Kostyuk on reporters knowing that she's been working with Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli at the Piatti Tennis Center in Italy.
"I had a lot of pressure. I felt like I had to win because my parents [gave] everything. But at least I did it. I'm a really big fighter. Maybe that's the reason why I'm still fighting today like that."
- Tamara Korpatsch on what it meant to her to advance to the third round of a major for the first time. The German explained that when she was young, due to a lack of funds and resources, she and her family had to sleep in their car when traveling to ITF tournaments.
"I kind of like the drama sometimes. It's good to just get it out all of a sudden. Doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it feels good to just get in a quick fight mid-match."
- Madison Keys on having human line judges rather than Electronic Line Calling, and how an argument with a chair umpire can add some flare to a match and release some adrenaline.
"I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very exciting."
- Victoria Mboko on still being in disbelief that Serena Williams knows who she is. The World No. 9 added that the 23-time Grand Slam champion is her idol, and they've had some text exchanges.