Honey deuces, oversized tennis balls covered in autographs, and action across the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center? Must be the 2024 US Open.
We’ve got the best quotes from Day 9 in Flushing Meadows. Here’s the latest from Taylor Fritz, Aryna Sabalenka, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Iga Swiatek, and more:
“Drinks on me, you guys.” — Aryna Sabalenka to the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd in an attempt to win over fans for her semifinal against American Emma Navarro
“It’s cool I’m in the semis, but I very much have the mindset of, ‘The job’s not done.’” — Taylor Fritz, who broke through to the first major semifinal of his career
“There is nothing sure in tennis, right?” — Alex de Minaur
“I kind of won it ugly.” — Iga Swiatek, reflecting on her run to the 2022 US Open title
“I come from skiing. When skiing, if you make one mistake, the game is over or the race is over. In tennis, you can [make a mistake]. It’s a bit of a different mentality.” — Jannik Sinner
“That’s very important when you go to a Slam, to put your emotions on the side.” — Paula Badosa
“It’s a pretty cool place to play tennis.” — Tommy Paul on Arthur Ashe Stadium
“It’s pretty insane that all the legends of our sport have played on that court.” — Emma Navarro on Arthur Ashe Stadium
“There’s always a lot of talk of the next American to win a Grand Slam, and we’re pretty far from it still, but one step closer.” — Taylor Fritz's coach, Michael Russell
“She plays with a competitive grace that I think is somewhat lost in not just our sport but just sports in general. She’s so incredibly respectful of the game. She’s so incredibly respectful of the person on the other side of the net. She’s just so graceful in how she goes about doing what she does. Some of that is how beautifully she moves around the court and some of the shots she hits, but it’s just also in how she carries herself. I think that’s truly special.” — coach Peter Ayers on his charge, Emma Navarro
“We know how much pressure we feel every single match. Doesn’t matter if it’s quarterfinals or the first round.” — Beatriz Haddad Maia
“I did nothing to deserve to win. It’s as simple as that.” — Alexander Zverev on his quarterfinal loss to Taylor Fritz
“I don’t make too much fuss. I just put my head down and work on my craft.” — Alex de Minaur, the first Australian man to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals since Lleyton Hewitt
“It’s very nice to see a lot of people, especially Brazilians, cheering for me and following me during the whole year. That's gives me the motivation to keep going, because I know there is a lot of girls and boys who can get inspired, and they can also dream and see that if I'm there, they also can do it.” — Beatriz Haddad Maia
“He’s been my No. 1 fan, my No. 1 supporter my entire life. He taught my siblings and I a lot of really important lessons from the time we were young that definitely pertain to tennis, but also just life. He was definitely an advocate for me trying to make something of tennis, but he always said he didn’t want me to be a one-trick pony. He was an advocate of me working really hard in school. It was always family, school, then tennis.” — Emma Navarro on her father, Ben
“Don’t jinx it.” — Iga Swiatek when reminded how well she has been serving through four rounds
“[I’m] not going to have PTSD from this moment.” — Tommy Paul after his 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1 loss to Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16
“I even forgot how to speak English today. Imagine. What a day, man. Can I go to sleep?” — Paula Badosa
“The No. 1 American, I know Taylor covets that a lot. When he loses that to Ben [Shelton] or Tommy [Paul], it kind of gives him that little extra push and motivation to work even harder, because he really wants to have that label.” — Michael Russell on Taylor Fritz
