Australian Open Day 4: Press Conference Snippets

The Day 4 pressers were decidedly chipper affairs for the top players. Venus and Serena were judge and jury on their decision to withdraw from doubles, evading questions like those prudent Whack-a-Moles in Venus' American Express commercial. Victoria Azarenka, winner over Caroline Wozniacki, had plenty to say about her level of play and her tennis-ball-chic outfit. "Intensity" is right. Spare a thought for Lleyton Hewitt, who fell to Andre Agassi's final opponent, Benjamin Becker, and was forced to confront more retirement chatter from the press. The players are still talking about Tim Smyczek's great (and rare) gesture of sportsmanship. Stan Wawrinka provided some nuance, saying that he's not entirely sure what he would have done in the same situation. Finally, Novak Djokovic gave insight into what it's like to be the hunted, seeming to sympathize with Rafael Nadal's second-round struggles.


Q. Why did you and Serena pull out of doubles?

VENUS WILLIAMS: According to the rules you don't have to give a reason. I think we'll stick with that.

Q. Nothing to do with the heat?

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was warm. I don't think it was as warm as it could have been. But, no, that wasn't it.

Q. That wasn't the reason?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Uh-uh.

Q. Were doctors consulted as part of the reasoning?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No further questions on that. I object. Sustained. Thank you.


Q. When she came in and things were pretty intense; wasn't easy to have success on the tour. She's gone through all these different phases. Talk about how she's grown from basically a girl to an incredibly mature woman.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she came in as a new face, a black woman that was shaking up the world. She had all the pressure on her shoulders. I kind of came in behind her. You know, just snuck in there. There was no pressure on me at all. She dealt with it so amazing. She had a lot of confidence and she had so much class and still does throughout everything. You can see that her personality is pretty much the same. She's definitely grown but she's always been very mature and very regal.

Q. Was there a public moment in public when you were most proud of your sister?

SERENA WILLIAMS: So many things. I mean, her sticking up for equal rights in Dubai when they wouldn't let certain players play, her sticking up for equal prize money for the WTA in Wimbledon. So many different things that she's done for the tour that's made it a better place not just for me but for all the female players.

Q. What was the thinking behind pulling out of doubles this year?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think we were just here. I don't think we have to give a reason. I think Venus answered that already.

Q. Just affects on singles for both of you.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Sure.


Q. Back to the outfit. You started with such intensity.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: That's the key. That's the whole point, the outfit, yeah (smiling). You answered my question.

Q. But then you continued playing with such intensity.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Don't be nervous, it's okay. Well, I didn't take off my outfit, so the energy and intensity stayed there with the outfit. But really, that's how I play. I try to imply that intensity. I play aggressive. I think that's one of my trademarks. Not the outfit, but the intensity.


Q. As usual, there will be a lot of speculation about your future now. What's next for you?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'll sit down and think about it. As I've said the whole time, I haven't thought about anything. But obviously the Davis Cup is the next main thing. Now that we've got some guys playing really good tennis at the moment, it's an exciting time. Yeah, we have a good chance to possibly pull off an upset away. That's the next focus.

Q. Does that make you want to stay on longer, not thinking about retirement, but...

LLEYTON HEWITT: No, not necessarily. Obviously it would be great to play when Nick and Bernie and Thanasi are possibly top 10, top 20 players, you get a free ride winning Davis Cups (smiling). That ain't going to happen straightaway. You know, I've always said that for me to stick around in Davis Cup is to help these guys more as a mentor, teach them what Davis Cup's all about. So far I've been able to do that from I guess my dedication on the practice court and the match court playing for Australia.


Q. The fact that he gave Rafa another serve at that point in a match, is that a smart thing to do? Is that something you think...

STAN WAWRINKA: I think it's great. I don't know when I saw the match. I think it's tough a little bit to serve also. I think it was great for him to give back the point. You don't see it so many times and it's great sportsmanship.

Q. Would you do that?

STAN WAWRINKA: I don't know. Let's see. Yeah, I don't know. You cannot answer that. After four hours of match you don't know what's in your mind. Sometimes you react just like that. So it's not like you don't ask you that question when it's happening. You just do it. Hope so I will do it.

Q. What did you think in general when you watched the match?

STAN WAWRINKA: In general? I think Tim was playing really great tennis. I think that's what you can expect from Rafa, especially at the beginning of the tournament after few months out of tournament, so many tough battle, big up and down. I don't know what's happen with him physically. But, yeah, I think, like I said before the tournament, if you get through the first week he's going to be really, really dangerous to win the title. Let's see what's going to happen now.


Q. Were you surprised to see Rafa in such a physical state of distress last night?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I watched a little bit of the last few games of the fifth set only. I haven't seen the whole match. He knows to answer the best how he feels on the court. I don't know. From what I have seen, he was out there fighting, you know, deserved to win because he fighted his way through. Now it happens that you have opposite the net an opponent that plays as well as Smyczek played, has nothing to lose. I don't know about his health issues or physical state. Definitely was not expected to see him playing four and a half hours against Smyczek. People expect him and top players to dominate most of the matches that they play on, especially in the opening rounds of a Grand Slam. This is tennis. This is sport. People need to realize that other players are playing as well as the top players do. In the Grand Slams, you have motivation more. If you have a fight like they had last night, you just have to congratulate the better player. I'm sure Rafa spoke nicely and praised his opponent. I've seen actually the great gentleman gesture and sportsmanship from Smyczek in the last game. I think that's something that people should talk about. This is something that is not very common in the sport today, you know, where media and people generally emphasize on the rivalries, feisty, aggressive kind of approach to matches. It's nice to have something that is greater than sport itself, you know, the sportsmanship and fair play.