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The Australian Open in Quotes

The expectations

The big names were entering the tournament with varying levels of confidence... if they came at all!

"I really have to go out on the practice courts because there are a few things I am not happy with. I have got a few days left, though, and I will use them."
-- Eventual champion Roger Federer (after a one-sided loss to Andre Agassi the week before the tournament)

"I am bursting with energy."
-- Eventual third round upset victim Venus Williams

"I'm really looking forward to doing well. I'm not talking about quarter-finals, semi-finals ... I am talking about finals."
-- Eventual runner-up Marat Safin

"I came to Australia late because I decided to be home in Moscow for Christmas. My life is more important to me than tennis."
-- Elena Dementieva after crashing out in the first round

?We still think the match to play against Lindsay Davenport was rigged. Some people in Tennis Australia and (management company) Octagon did not want to see her do well and become a big star. How could she go back??
-- Jelena Dokic's wacked out father Damir, who is regrettably back on the scene

The doping scandal

Much or the first-week talk centered around the recent rash of positive drugs tests, particlarly that of Greg Rusedski. The men were getting a bit paranoid. The women seemed immune to the scandal, but after viewing the uninspiring women's matches one wag expressed the tongue-in-cheek wish that they weren't...

"I've been particularly pleased by the players' reactions. They've been very positive and sympathetic towards me."
-- Greg Rusedski (who was obviously not referring to Christophe Rochus)

"What disgusts me is that guys like Rusedski and Chela dare to play against each other [in Sydney the previous week] without being ashamed to be there? They were caught red-handed and are still acting like kings. It?s shocking.?.
-- Christophe Rochus

"Everybody's afraid. Everybody's talking in the locker room, [saying], 'Be careful of this, be careful of that'. My feeling is that right now you cannot drink electrolytes or something. I'm completely afraid. I've stopped taking everything."
-- Albert Costa

"If the fans had any say in it, women's tennis should not so much be looking to ban performance-enhancing drugs as make them compulsory."
-- Daily Telegraph columnist Martin Johnson

The lost lustre

When favourites met de-feet in the first week, some were quick (overly so?) to deduce that a family, and perhaps an entire nation, were in decline.

"My feet, I couldn't get them to go. My feet were very bad today. Especially at my height, I can't have bad feet and play well.?
-- Venus Williams

"To a degree, [the Williams sisters] have certainly lost a little bit of their lustre?
-- Lisa Raymond, Venus's executioner

?After a long illness, German tennis passed away at the Australian Open. Signed, Steffi, Boris, Michael and millions of fans."
-- The German tabloid Bild, after Rainer Schuettler's first round loss

"I was the Masters semifinalist three months ago and everyone congratulated me. Suddenly, the whole of German tennis is dead. I find that strange."
-- Rainer Schuettler

The young...

Teenage sensations Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet made very differing impressions...

"I've played a lot of motivated guys, but from the first point, he's shouting, 'Come on!"'
-- Thierry Ascione after losing to Nadal

?He's a great player. All the stuff you've heard and seen in the past, he's going to be very good in a couple of years.?
-- Lleyton Hewitt, no stranger to "Come on" himself, after defeating Nadal

"It?s not so much that I lost in the first round, it?s the way I lost. I was completely off. When things go badly I close up. I lose my bearings. Maybe people expect too much from me. That must be the problem?
-- Befuddled Richard Gasquet

And the not so young...

A couple of 30-plus Americans impressed. Todd Martin was a treat, not only for his tennis (he worried Marat Safin for five sets), but also for his quick, dry wit. And ageless Andre Agassi looked unbeatable until Safin, well, beat him. Were his final four-corner bows a definitive goodbye to Australia?

"At his age, the amount of time he took off, it's incredible. It's inspiring to see him enjoying tennis that much to want to fight hard."
-- James Blake on Todd Martin

Q. What kind of match do you expect?
TODD MARTIN: I think from your accent, I probably play Ivo Karlovic. The trainer was right.

?Like when Pete Sampras went on his Wimbledon runs, I think it's Andre's title until someone takes it away from him."
-- Andy Roddick

"You never know when it's your last, right? So you want to say bye properly."
-- Andre Agassi

The long-suffering coach

Anastasia Myskina raised some eyebrows when she angrily screamed at her coach (and ex-boyfriend) Jens Gerlach to show her more support during a tough fourth round win over Chanda Rubin.

"I know it's not the best part of me, so I just try to work on this... He knows that I'm really emotional, but it is only on the court. I'm a really tough girl on court, really nice off the court. You know, on the court, I'm not nice."
-- Anastasia Myskina

"Today it was my emotion, tomorrow it is going to be my face and the next match it is going to be I don't know what."
-- Jens Gerlach

A triumphant return scotched by a Swiss

Marat Safin's sudden resurgence was welcomed by many, including his opponent in the final. A brilliant run, featuring grueling upset wins over top seed Andy Roddick and five-time champion Andre Agassi, left Marat fatigued. He was vulnerable to the Swiss artiste Federer, who has an awesome game and knows it.

"I did a little bit of fishing, a little bit of camping, all those things that make you think about life a little bit."
-- Marat Safin

?How did I beat this player? I don't know, I don't know."
-- Marat Safin, after upsetting Andre Agassi in the match of the tournament

?[Safin] is one of my favourite guys to play against, not because of our results, but from the human side. He's in the final and it's really nice to see. The whole tennis world is really happy to have him in the final, too.?
-- Roger Federer, pre-final

"I'm not going to start praising myself, but just for me my game feels natural. I feel like I'm living the game when I'm out there. I feel when a guy is going to hit the ball, I know exactly with the angles and spins, I just feel that I've got that figured out. And that is just a huge advantage."
-- Roger Federer, post-final

"But realistically, I'm happy. I'm satisfied. I don't want to push myself down because I lost a match against Federer. It's not like I played against a yo-yo, a guy who doesn't know how to play tennis. You know what I mean?"
-- Marat Safin, post-final

Battling Belgians, bis

But there was no surprise women's finalist, as countrywomen Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters renewed their long-standing rivalry and once again duelled for a major title... unfortunately for four-time Slam runner-up Clijsters, with the same result as usual.

"It started from when we were playing under-10s in Belgium. We have grown up together, shared hotel rooms together at under-14 and it is incredible to have two players like us come through at such a young age. We have both worked really, really hard and deserve to be here.?
-- Kim Clijsters, pre-match

?It?s been a difficult tournament for me. It was new being the top seed. But the situation changed in the quarterfinals and I feel better and better. Now I have to improve my level again if I want to win the title.?
-- Justine Henin-Hardenne, pre-match

?It was very emotional. I never usually show my emotions too much, but I had to. I was feeling just unbelievable. I have three Grand Slams now and I haven`t realised it yet.?
-- Justine Henin-Hardenne, post-match

"I don't think it's got anything to do with the psychological at all."
-- Kim Clijsters, post-match, unconvincingly, on her repeated losses in major finals