French Open - View from the courts: Day five

Eurosport - Fri, 29 May 07:35:00 2009

All the reaction from the big names on the fifth day of the French Open at Roland Garros.

TENNIS/Roland Garros - 0

Elena Dementieva admits she was lucky to move on after Jelena Dokic was forced to quit against her while in front.

"I didn't deserve to win this match. It feels bad to win this way and it must be hard on her.

Dokic talks about the heartbreak of having to withdraw.

"It's a shock and a disappointment I felt like I had the match in my hands and I was doing well and even if I didn't win, I was playing really well ... I felt like I probably played the best tennis that I played this year. I just went down and couldn't come back up. I don't know what it is yet. It was very painful, and I just hope it's not too serious."

Andy Roddick is not getting carried away after reaching the third round for the first time since his debut appearance in 2001

"I'm not going to sit here and jump up on a soap box like I'm really good on this stuff (clay) now because I won two matches. I think that's what you need to guard against. Today I felt pretty good, and I felt pretty in control of what I was doing. I have improved physically from the past times I've been here, and I think that lends itself to having some more options out there."

Serena Williams says she would like to play the 2002-2003 "Serena Slam" version of herself in a head-to-head contest: "I think the Serena now would definitely beat the other Serena. I'm older. I think I'm wiser. I think I'm just a more mature player. Back then, it was more nitty gritty, and now it's more composed and planned out playing."

French 13th seed Marion Bartoli unleashes a cavalcade of excuses after losing 6-3 7-5 to Italian Tathiana Garbin: "I was a little tired and a little sick, I had a sore throat and my nose is running. It was very cold and the court was heavy. The ball was stuck on the strings and it was very slow. When I made unforced errors, her team would shout. It's not sporting. They're Italians. This is what it's like."

Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic on her return to form after a tough start to the year: "I think I'm coming back. This is the most important thing for me, especially when you saw me playing a few months ago. I'm back to my normal weight. Maybe I had seven kilos more than I have now, which is a lot for me. When you put that kind of weight on, and you are not used to it, it's tough to move around. (The start of the season) was really disastrous. I was moving terrible. I was making so many errors. My game was completely off, as well as my confidence."

World number two Roger Federer after battling past Jose Acasuso in four sets: "I was a bit lucky to come back in the third set. He was a double break up, there were not many shots he was missing and he was serving well. Once I won the third set, I had my grip on the match, I was stronger, physically and mentally. It was important to build the points properly and I had kind of lost that a bit. I was not sure where and how to return. At the beginning, it was working well and at some point, it was not working anymore. My opponent felt that and he started to play better."

Third seed Venus Williams after narrowly surviving her two-day, three-set clash with Czech Lucie Safarova: "I was very angry. I really wanted that tie-breaker. She just came up with shot after shot, on the line, deep, hard. The best shots she could hit. I wanted the tie-breaker. I was pretty upset. I wound down (last night) and I had my little dog with me. We had some good times and just ate dinner and watched a programme and got ready (for today). I wasn't thinking. Not at all. Probably just stick to my technique. Rely on that. Thankfully, I wasn't thinking. It just happened, so it was great. Dwelling can kill you on the court."

Slovakia-born Australian Jarmila Groth tries to clear up some confusion as to who she is and why she represents different countries in the Grand Slams and WTA events: "The Grand Slam's go by their own rules. But because the WTA have different rules you have to provide a passport. They don't allow me to change to Australia until I show them that I have a passport, even if I'm a resident and they know me well enough to know. I think I've been kind of Australian since I moved there when I was 15. I'm going to become an Australian citizen this year or next year. I'm going to get the passport sooner or later no matter what as I actually married an Australian."

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  1. marion barloli lost because she's 30 pounds­ overweight. which gives her TWO reasons to shut her­ mouth.

    From jay, on Fri 29 May 10:58AM
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