• US Open, Day Six

What They Said

ESPN staff
September 3, 2011
Caroline Wozniacki was happy to get by Vania King © PA Photos
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Roger Federer came through a stiff challenge from Marin Cilic and he said: "Coming in I knew it was gonna be tricky, and I'm happy that I was able to counter his pace and his good play. It was a tricky match, especially at one set all. In the third set sort of in the beginning I thought that was a key moment because he had momentum on his side. I was not returning and serving exactly the way I wanted, but I was able to turn it around and finished strong in the set. Then in the fourth things were a bit easier. Tough match from start to finish, really, because also the first set could have gone differently. I know that.

"I seriously don't care how I'm playing. I wish I play my best every single time and feel amazing. That's not reality. Anybody who goes to work knows it's not as great as he wishes to be, and we go through the same thing. But you find a way to win when maybe someone is not playing so well or when your opponent is playing well, and that's what the beauty is of this game, I think, is trying to find a way when you're not feeling great. That's what I maybe was able to do today."

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic set up a fourth-round clash against Alexandr Dolgopolov after seeing off Nikolay Davydenko, but he admitted he was not entirely happy with his performance. He said: "I played well in the important moments and managed to make crucial breaks in all three sets. He was playing very aggressively and I was aware of that before. I was very passive so I wasn't really happy with the game. I didn't feel great from the back of the court but I knew what to play and that's what matters the most."

Janko Tipsarevic eased through with Tomas Berdych's retirement and he is taking inspiration from his fellow Serbians. He said: "You see Novak (Djokovic) doing so well. You see Viktor (Troicki) being, you know, in the springtime so close to be top 10, you know. I guess I was kind of sick of being all the time around 30 or 40. I am not getting any younger. I'm not old but I'm not young. I see guys from my generation like Soderling or Simon, you know, had their, if I can say dreams come true winning tournaments being top 10. I feel that I have the quality. It's just the thing is that my head was not there in the previous years, you know. The goal this year is to be top 20 and then maybe next year to hopefully attack top 10."

Tomas Berdych was understandably downbeat after retiring against Janko Tipsarevic. He said: "I felt it in the match with Fognini, but I was able to finish it up. I didn't even go to hit yesterday. I want to just have a treatment on that, relax and don't do anything and hoping that it's gonna be better, but it's not. I need to work on it with the physios, doctors, and try to put it all right to be ready until the end of the season. I hope it's not gonna be long, but, you know, everything's gonna take some time."

Caroline Wozniacki produced a solid display in beating Vania King in straight sets. The No. 1 seed said: "It wasn't easy as Vania was getting a lot of balls back ad waiting for the right time to come in and mix it up a bit so I am just glad to be in the fourth round. I've been playing pretty well the last two weeks. I won New Haven and I've made the fourth round now. I feel like my game is on the right track, and looking forward to the next one."

Vania King was beaten by Wozniacki and she said: "Obviously I'm disappointed I lost. I thought it was a good match, though. It's a pity. I had a lot of chances in the first I felt, a lot of brea-point chances. She was a little bit more aggressive than I was, and obviously she's one of the best players out there. So I needed to step it up when I needed to, and she did it a little bit better than me today.

"I felt like I was playing with her but she is isn't No. 1 without a good reason. She is used to winning. She has that confidence. When she needed the points she was a little bit more aggressive than I was, but I didn't feel like I was overpowered or that tennis-wise that her game was that much better than mine."

Juan Carlos Ferrero benefited from Marcel Granollers' retirement to get off court quickly and was pleased after his five-set epic in the previous round. He said: "Obviously I felt yesterday very tired, of course. Today I was a little bit better, but still, you know, very tired in all my body. It helped me a little bit with Marcel today because I was tired. I was hoping to not play a long match, but, yeah, of course 1 to 10 I'm tired 6 or 7 today, for sure."

Serena Williams booked her place in the fourth round with a win over Victoria Azarenka. She said: "I think I played really well [in the first set]. I probably should have kept doing those things. If I was in a zone, it didn't last long. I definitely wasn't happy with the way I played today. I was a wee bit disappointed. The whole match was a semifinal. But at the end of the day it was the third round, and I'm into the round of 16, so I've got to keep doing it."

Victoria Azarenka emerged with great credit from her defeat to Serena Williams and and was full of praise for her opponent. She said: "She's playing at the higher level. It's everything. She has a complete package. The big serve maker her different from the other players. Mentally, she's one of the toughest players out there."

Francesca Schiavone came through another tough match against Chanelle Scheepers and the Italian said: "It's great to come back after a fight like this. In the meantime, it's bad to arrive there. Because she was good, she was consistent, but I really didn't do my best to arrive in that moment. Then in the third set I think I played much better. With serve, with forehand, I start to push like I had to. But to arrive there is not so good. Particularly when it is my mistake, not just for her."

Andrea Petkovic proved too good for Roberta Vinci but was wary of her opponent as she said: "I started off a little nervously because I didn't know her. I knew how she was playing but I didn't play her before. I knew she plays differently. She plays more like a man, a lot of slice, trying to get into the net. So I was a little nervous, but once I found my rhythm, I think I played a solid match. I tried to put more topspin on the balls because she plays a lot of slice, and I think it's tougher to play slice when somebody gives topspin on the ball. So that's what I tried to do. I think it went fine."

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