LONDON, UK - Below is a collection of some of the best quotes from Week 1 of The Championships, straight from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars.
"I wouldn't even mention my name and his in the same sentence."
Serena Williams on parallels between she and Venus and Michael Jackson, in that they all started their careers young, the day after Jackson's passing.
"There are many things I missed about the game. There are so many little things that go into the presentation of a single tennis match and the few hours afterwards. I miss the whole process of it. The hour before the match where you're in the locker room, you're putting your dress on and you see the screen and you know in an hour you're going to be on that court in front of that crowd, to the 10 minutes before where you're with your team getting pumped for the match, to the second you go on the court and hear the crowd, and you're in that environment again. Then the competitiveness of each match, pulling through the tough situations or trying to close it out. I could go on and on."
Maria Sharapova on what she missed most from tennis during her shoulder injury lay-off, which lasted nine months between last August and this May.
"She proved you don't have to be six feet tall to be No.1 in the world and win Grand Slams. Just everything about her was amazing."
Melanie Oudin, who saved match points in qualifying but made the main draw, eventually reaching the fourth round, taking out Top 10 player Jelena Jankovic en route. Oudin, 17 and one of America's brightest young talents, is 5'6".
"Up until last year, my career was always going up. Then, once I got to the top position, I had some setbacks. It was a little bit hard for me to accept. I had thought it's always going to be up the hill and it's always going to be better and better. But that's not always the case. You learn how to accept losses. It makes you stronger. It makes you appreciate wins even more."
Ana Ivanovic on how the 12 months since she first rose to No.1, which have seen her fall to her current ranking of No.12, have changed her.
"Sometimes people talk about how I'm No.1 but I don't have a Grand Slam. But I'm always right there. It's not like I'm winning one tournament then losing four first rounds. I'm consistently there. I'm sure if I do this day to day, I'll get a Grand Slam and nobody will talk about that anymore."
Dinara Safina on being No.1 in the world without a Grand Slam title, yet.
"As women, to be doing what we're doing, you have to be a pretty tough woman, ambitious and determined. That's me as a person. I do it because I want to do it, and I feel I can keep improving and get further up the rankings. But there's a lot of work behind the scenes. To put yourself through it, being away from home over 30 weeks of the year, sacrificing your social life or family time, it's a lot to give up. But you do it for the love of the game."
Anne Keothavong on whether the tennis world is as glamorous as some think.
"I'm a little bit upset, but I'm pretty proud of myself. I thought I played really, really well for a good part of the match, and then in the end a couple of things let me down a bit. I don't know what happened. I was a set and a break up, then I just got really nervous. I made a few more mistakes than I should have."
Laura Robson on her 36 64 62 first round loss to Daniela Hantuchova, who would eventually make the fourth round. Robson, who won the girls' title at Wimbledon last year, was playing her first Grand Slam main draw.
"Obviously she's got talent. Because she's left-handed it makes it tougher, too, and her serve is very good. She still has many things to improve, but I think she's on the right way, for sure. It didn't feel very good being a set down and getting kicked by a girl 11 years younger than me, so I just tried to make sure that whatever happened, I would win this match."
Daniela Hantuchova on her match with Laura Robson, Britain's young hope who pushed her to three sets in the first round before falling.
"I've learned about her since she came back. I knew she worked with Sven Groeneveld for a bit, he has told me a lot about how she was a great player. I know she's very big in Japan, and a big role model. She's still in such good shape. I'm really impressed with her, and she played so well today."
Caroline Wozniacki on Kimiko Date Krumm, the former world No.4 who came back last year from nearly 12 years of retirement and played her first Grand Slam main draw back here at Wimbledon. Wozniacki was down 75 31 to the Japanese veteran but would eventually win in three sets.
"Now, everybody in women's tennis is taller, more powerful, more speedy. But, in my opinion, tennis is more in the head. I don't have that much power and I'm not that tall. Especially on grass, I must use more slice and slow the ball down, and then I can open the court. If people can do this and go to the net more, make a good approach and volley more, tennis is more interesting."
Kimiko Date Krumm, 38, who made it up to No.4 in the world in the 1990s and who is working her way back up the rankings in this, her second career.
"I think I made a major mistake with my schedule after the Australian Open. I just played the wrong tournaments. I didn't play enough of them. There are players that have already played 30 or 40 matches this year, even 50, and I haven't even played close to that. Going into Roland Garros I only played four events, and I don't think that's anywhere near enough. I need to go back and figure some stuff out now, maybe try to play some more doubles even, just try to get more matches and consistency. Hopefully I can turn it around."
Jelena Dokic on her results since her scintillating Australian Open run.
"When I walk behind short people I feel like I'm going to fall over because I start taking these little steps, and I can't take little steps. I take big steps. I've always been tall. I don't know anything about small. Whatever you have, you learn to work with and get the best out of it. Personally, I think it's better to be tall."
Venus Williams on the advantages of being tall in women's tennis.
