Say what?! The best quotes of US Open day two

Former champions such as Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro were among the day two winners. The ever-popular Ana Ivanovic was a big-name casualty though. What did the stars have to say when they fronted the media? These are the best quotes of the day…

The ever-competitive Venus Williams on how she feels to break the record for most Grand Slams played:
“I’m grateful and I’m blessed. All I’m hoping for is just health that I can keep that record going. I don’t know when I’m going to stop playing. I don’t have plans now. I’m playing too well to be thinking about stopping. I appear to be getting better each and every month. So I’d like to make that record hard for someone to break (smiling). Where is Serena at? Not far behind?”

Venus Williams shares what she loves most about the sport:
“I love that I love it. So when you love something, you put the work in. I love the challenge. Definitely I like the pressure. I like the high stakes. All of that makes it just perfect for my personality.”

Venus Williams is not a fan of selfies:
“Selfies have become an epidemic. You are getting off a plane at 1 a.m., Can I take a selfie? Please, I’m so tired, I don’t want to take a picture right now. I never thought I’d be here in my life. I got to say. I’m a tennis player, but somehow I’m famous. It’s strange.”

Juan Martin del Potro describes what being back at the US Open means to him:
“That’s means big things to myself. I am so glad to be part of this tournament once again after three years. I really appreciate the wild card who give me to have the chance to play.”

Ana Ivanovic on her first round loss to Denisa Allertova:
“It is very disappointing. You want to try and do best at the biggest events. I really felt I did everything I could. It is very, very sad.”

Former finalist Kei Nishikori is feeling confident about his title chances:
“I think there is a lot of chance, for sure, if I can play good. Well, yeah, I got a lot of confidence from Toronto and this summer in Olympics, too. I played some good tennis. You know, beating Rafa, it was great experience I had in Olympics.”

No.5 seed Simona Halep on whether she can win the US Open:
“I wish I could win it, but is not easy to think about that. It’s just the first round. I have many matches ahead, and the next round is going to be very tough. Maybe in my career I will win a Grand Slam. I’m not sure and I don’t know if it’s gonna happen, but I’m here just to work hard, to get better, and to dream for it.”

Simona Halep is a fan of dessert:
“I just have cheesecake. Every day. Yesterday I had a big ice cream on the street.”

World No.3 Stan Wawrinka shares his thoughts on Roger Federer’s absence:
“It’s hard for the tournament, for the fans, for the tennis, for everybody. Roger is so important for the tennis, and it’s unfortunate he’s injured for the rest of the year.”

Stan Wawrinka talks about his outfits:
“It’s a bright year so far for me, in Grand Slams especially. No, it’s okay. I can also put some more black if I want. First time I’m going with the pink shirt and short. We’ll see how it looks on the picture, and then I will decide if I go back to the black one.”

Swiss Timea Bacsinszky on playing Vitalia Diatchenko, a player on the comeback from injury, in the first round:
“This was the difficult part of the day. Not knowing what would be just in front of me, which answers she would give to all the questions I’m asking her.”

Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who recorded his first Grand Slam win in three years, gives an insight into his injury lay-off:
“The worst part is at that point I couldn’t even really practice because I was basically four months in an actual bed, like not being able to walk on crutches or wheelchair or whatever. If you can practice or run or go to the gym, it’s kind of easier. I even played tennis for a while sitting on a chair because I couldn’t stand. I’m not crying you a river here; I’m just telling you how it actually was.”

American qualifier Jared Donaldson on his mindset during his upset win over No.12 seed David Goffin:
“There’s fine lines in tennis. So I think it’s important to remember that big points come for both players. You just have to keep focusing on what you can control and not kind of let outside distractions distract you. That’s what I did out there. I think I did that pretty well today.”

Serena Williams on her round one opponent Ekaterina Makarova:
“I knew today I needed to be focused because I’ve played her. She’s gotten to the semifinals. She goes deep in majors. She knows how to play big matches on big courts. She’s not intimidated. I knew I had to really come out today. It was my only option really.”

Serena Williams’ response to how important retaining the World No.1 ranking is to her:
“I don’t answer those questions.”