Say what?! Best French Open day nine quotes

Tennis players can return serve in the press room just as good as they can on court. Take a look at the best quotes from day nine at Roland Garros…

“It was the coldest kiss I had in my life, but it was a kiss (smiling). It’s a good point already, and I was actually also surprised. I was not expecting that she wanted to give me a kiss. And I liked it. I mean, it was good to finish on this note, you know, like I wouldn’t have liked like just a handshake, like very cold. I’m not this kind of person. I’m a very nice person. I don’t like the conflict. So I told her good luck, and I mean it.”
Alize Cornet on the exchange with Caroline Garcia after the match and the crowd’s warm reaction to it

“Don’t talk about it anymore. That would be a solution. I hate conflicts. I hate this situation. It’s really taking a toll on me. People keep talking to me about Caroline, and it’s a burden. I know what I did. I may have made mistakes, but I think at this point it would be wonderful to move on to something else.”
Alize Cornet’s advice to the media over the Caroline Garcia and French Fed Cup team controversy

“I thought I could, at one point, become the big surprise of the tournament.”
Alize Cornet rues a missed opportunity

“Of course it’s nice to see the fans cheering you on and with some nice messages when it’s difficult time. I read a lot of them this last week. But sometimes you have also to arrive to stay focused on yourself, and there is a lot of bad people around and you have to be careful.”
Caroline Garcia on avoiding outside distractions

“Taking apart the US Open in ’14, I’m definitely feeling the best on the court. Even at that tournament, US Open, I didn’t go through the draw as comfortably as here. With the form I’m playing, I just feel great on the court.”
Marin Cilic issues an ominous warning on his form

“I don’t really look at whether it’s a top-20 player or whether it’s Stan. I think maybe what was missing today is realism. I don’t think I was realistic enough.”
Gael Monfils gets real

“You know, when you lose, you can find all kinds of excuses. The fact is I wasn’t able to win today.”
There is no excuses for Gael Monfils

“So I think with this type of game what I was playing, I would say there is no chance I can reach quarters (smiling)”
No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova is surprised to still be in the tournament

“No, at first I thought she was eating something. She went from the match and had like snack or something but during the game she was still having something there. I’m surprised. I don’t know how is this possible (smiling).”
Karolina Pliskova on opponent Veronica Cepede Royg chewing gum during their match

“Actually I’m very bad with the memories (smiling). I don’t even know if I win or lost. I won?”
Kei Nishikori when asked about his US Open win over Andy Murray last year

“You know, what I do after a match like today is that I like to press the reset button. The reset button which takes me back to square 1. I would not want today’s loss to affect me too much. So from now on I am going to press that reset button, and hopefully that will put me in a good position to start my next tournaments.”
Fernando Verdasco is pushing buttons

“I forgot how to win, how to play (smiling). That’s why I was a bit struggling”
Elina Svitolina on her slow start to her fourth round win

“I heard that after 2-5 I missed only four points, so probably this is Svitolina mode. But, yeah, I just try to find myself into this zone where I don’t do much unforced errors and still play aggressive, you know. This balance that what really I improved a lot since the beginning of this year, and sometimes of course there will be a struggle in my game. But, you know, I tried to find this – yeah, the thing where I feel comfortable and very confident with my game.”
Elina Svitolina explains ‘Svitolina mode’

“Still a great tournament, you know. You can always find reason for red wine (smiling).”
Beaten fourth round player Petra Martic, whose post-win tradition is a glass of wine

“I think everything is changed. Also in my general life. I’m more positive, and helps me. I don’t have bad moods anymore, so it’s good (smiling).”
Simona Halep on her improved attitude