The best 100 quotes from the blockbuster 2023 US Open

 

Here, usopen.org looks back on a US Open like no other through the words of those who made it all happen.

1: “Thank you, Billie, for fighting for this.” — Coco Gauff to trailblazer Billie Jean King upon receiving her $3 million prize check

2: “I had a childhood dream when I was seven, eight [years old]: I wanted to become the best player in the world and win a Wimbledon trophy. That was the only thing I wanted. When I realized that, I started to dream new dreams and set new objectives, new goals. I never imagined that I would be here talking about 24 Slams.” - Novak Djokovic

3: “This is one of the biggest achievements in sports history. We’re not talking about tennis. We are talking generally in sport.” — Coach Goran Ivanisevic on Novak Djokovic’s record 24th Grand Slam title

4: “It’s loud here in New York.” — Casper Ruud 

5: “Once a competitor, always a competitor.” — Caroline Wozniacki

6: “I felt like Barbie.” — Aryna Sabalenka on her pink dress

7: “I don’t know if this can be used in life, but in tennis, you have to fight till the end.” — Daniil Medvedev

8: “It’s frickin’ difficult.” — Rajeev Ram, who with Joe Salisbury became the first duo in the Open Era to win three straight US Open men’s doubles titles

9: “Dad is always upset when I go for the bombs.” — Ben Shelton, who recorded the fastest serve of the tournament at 149 mph

10: “Everyone can win when they’re playing well. That’s not the difficult part of the game. It’s when you’re playing average tennis, you find ways to get through.” — Andy Murray

11: “The more experience you get being pushed to these limits, the further I guess those limits can go.” — Coco Gauff

12: “I think that’s the real sport, you know? When you kind of push yourself to the limits and you try to get better.” — Aryna Sabalenka

13: “My year didn’t go the way, in any way, shape or form, that I thought it would go.” — Venus Williams

14: “I put out all the pressure that people put on me. I just delete it and focus on my own game.” — Carlos Alcaraz

15: “I just love Ben’s celebration. I thought it was very original and I copied him. I stole his celebration.” — Novak Djokovic

16: “As a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” — Ben Shelton

17: “We are humans. We are thinking about the worst scenario sometimes and it happens.” — Elina Svitolina

18: “I kind of found a place where I can operate and still be calm and still be clear-minded, but be a fierce competitor.” — Ben Shelton

19: “Some good stories happen if you save match points.” — Dominic Stricker

20: “I don’t want to be this friendly, happy person on court. I want to get the win, and then after the match I know that I can be me.” — Aryna Sabalenka

21: “This sport is not easy. You need to be ready for everything that can happen. In the end, the best players prove that they are ready and that’s why they are the best.” — Andrey Rublev

22: “That’s how tennis is. I think that’s how sometimes how it can be in life: Many things can happen. You can be disappointed, then next day is a new day and something good can happen.” — Daniil Medvedev

23: “I just want to be remembered most importantly from my colleagues as a guy who was pretty easy to get along with off the court.” — John Isner

24: “I feel a lot of joy coming back here. It’s kind of like seeing an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time.” — 2018 and 2020 US Open titlist Naomi Osaka on her return to Flushing Meadows

25: “I’m an argumentative person. I’m very stubborn. My parents know. If they tell me one thing, I like to do the other.” — Coco Gauff

26: “You learn a lot about yourself through the losses, probably more than the wins.” —Bryan Shelton, father/coach of Ben Shelton

27: “We all know Foe likes primetime.” — Tommy Paul on Frances Tiafoe

28: “After Li Na, tennis became a more popular sport in China. She also put a dream seed in my heart that I wanted to become like that.” — Qinwen Zheng

29: “There is no secret about it. We all feel it. Everyone feels tight in some moments of the match.” — Novak Djokovic

30: “When I was a kid, I just thought about winning tournaments. The dreams never came with the people in the stands and autographs. It was just, like, the trophy.” — Coco Gauff

31: “Every player is tough to coach. Everybody is different. But Daniil can be VERY tough.” — Daniil Medvedev’s coach, Gilles Cervara

32: “You’ve got to keep evolving, just keep trying to add things to my game, keep trying to stay locked in, but still be me.” — Frances Tiafoe

33: “Try to just keep playing and keep believing yourself every single time. Everyone has tough moments. Still try to believe yourself. In the end, you’ll make it.” — Zhizhen Zhang

34: “It’s pretty cool for me to be a part of it. I love to see American tennis going in a great direction and tennis in general going in a great direction.” — Ben Shelton

35: “Yeah, I can be difficult, but who is not? I don’t know a player playing on the highest level that is easygoing and everything is, so to say, flowers and music. It has to be challenging for everyone, for the player and for the coaching staff, otherwise there is no growth. I think that’s the way to push each other to the limits and really understand how you can develop the game, how you can become better on and off the court.” — Novak Djokovic

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36: “It can be difficult sometimes because people do forget that you are a person. They see you as an athlete and they’re rooting for their favorite person, and when you lose, they say all types of things about you. I think it’s important that you really know yourself, because it’s very easy to feed into what you should and what you shouldn't do when everyone is giving their opinions. For the most part, I’ve done well with it. I think it’s because of my family. They have always kept me grounded and always, I guess, set the importance of my self-worth, because sometimes you can lose your sense of self in this environment.” — Coco Gauff

37: “I try to be myself all the time. I think the people love that part of me.” — Carlos Alcaraz

38: “Someone said I walked off the court in tears. I most definitely was not crying.” — No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula, who was upset by Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-3, in just over an hour

39: “I don’t show too much when I’m very happy or very sad. I try to be very neutral.” — Sorana Cirstea

40: “My worst year at my job is still traveling the world and playing tennis. Realistically, it’s not that bad.” — Madison Keys

41: “I think being a parent makes you want to pull your hair out.” — Taylor Townsend

42: “The worst emotion you can feel in sport is shame when you play bad and you know that all these people are watching.” — Iga Swiatek

43: “It’s really important that your team around you, the people in your box, aren’t panicking.” — Ben Shelton

44: “It hasn’t been an easy journey, but the belief has come from me putting in the work. I really know that I’m not here by talent. Yes, I have talent, quote-unquote, whatever. But I’m here because I work my ass off to get here.” — Taylor Townsend

45: “Every win in a Grand Slam is a happy day.” — Elina Svitolina

46: “Speaking things into existence is real. I've been trying to speak more positively of myself and actually telling myself that I'm a great player.” — Coco Gauff

47: “I want to make the Arab world, the African world, proud of me. I’m learning how to handle the expectations from them.” — Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur

48: “When I won a Grand Slam, my whole life changed and I needed time to adapt to all that. That wasn’t easy because at that time I was 19 years old, turning 20. It’s really difficult to get used to all this attention, pressure. Everybody expects you to win every single match, every single tournament. This is not possible because you are human.” — Jelena Ostapenko

49: “I have never seen that man cry in my life.” — Coco Gauff on her father, who finally broke down after her title win

50: “America has had some all-time greats: Pete Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, Roddick, Connors, incredible players over the years. When you are used to champions and No. 1's in the world, Grand Slam winners, anything except that is not a success, right?” — Novak Djokovic

51: “I’m just constantly trying to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself, and not make things bigger than they are.” — Madison Keys

52: “Hopefully, she will stay No. 1 until I get there and take her place.” — Ons Jabeur on new WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka

53: “Man, this is what I train for.” — Taylor Townsend, who upset Beatriz Haddad Maia, 7-6(1), 7-5

54: “There is always going to be a lot of pressure as an American playing the US Open. There’s no other way to put it.” — Taylor Fritz

55: “Injuries are always tough. But the toughest part is just not knowing when you’re going to compete again. The unknown is something that's scary.” — Jennifer Brady, who returned to the US Open for the first time since reaching the semifinals in 2020

56: “I think I’m going to never forget that moment for the rest of my life.” — Coco Gauff after meeting Barack and Michelle Obama at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

57: “I don’t like the traffic.” — Iga Swiatek on New York’s infamously busy roadways

58: “When she walks, she just has that confidence.” — Karolina Muchova on Beyoncé

59: “The passion and the love of the game. As long as I’m feeling good on the court, I’m motivated, I love the process to be back. I also know the day I stop, I will never find those emotions anywhere. I feel like it doesn't matter which age you are. If you’re still passionate about something, you shouldn’t stop.” — Stan Wawrinka on what keeps him going at 38.

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60: “At this stage of my career, I’m more appreciative of every single day that I get to wake up and feel like, ‘Oh, I’m actually feeling good, the body is great, so let’s just go and play.’ Of course, you have a few aches here and there. It’s inevitable. But at the same time, I’m trying to take things very naturally. Nothing is ever that good and nothing is ever that bad. I guess you can call it maturity.” — Grigor Dimitrov

61: “There’s nothing like that. No tennis atmosphere matches nighttime on Ashe.” — Coco Gauff

62: “Everyone in tennis knows that night sessions at Arthur Ashe definitely are the most exciting, fun, loud, energetic sessions you can have out there in the tennis world.” — Novak Djokovic

63: “Twenty. It’s crazy. Like, I mean, you’re sweating a lot.” — Frances Tiafoe on how many shirts he brings to a match

64: “You have it or you don't have it.” — Coach Gills Vervara on athleticism

65: “In tennis, I think it’s very important for the coach to kind of be the boss, because otherwise it’s not going to be a player-coach relationship. It’s going to be more like either player-friend or the player is the boss.” — Daniil Medvedev

66: “Any time I have ever had a really good run at a Slam, I basically sleep for three days. It’s really emotional and it definitely takes a lot just to learn how to handle those emotions.” — Madison Keys

67: “I fully believe the reason I’m at where I’m at is because I set really high expectations for myself, and I hold myself to a high standard. When I'm practicing, when I'm playing, I'm almost a perfectionist. I want everything to be right. It's who I am. It's why I've been successful in my career.” — Taylor Fritz

68: “Tennis has been a huge part of my life. It’s tough to say goodbye. It’s not easy. But, eventually, this day would come. It's hard to prepare for the emotions of it. Most importantly, I have an amazing life, for sure, and look forward to every second of that going forward.” — John Isner, who played the match of his professional career at 38

69: “The fact is that at 36, every Grand Slam final could be the last one. I think that I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another slam more than I did maybe 10 years ago, because 10 years ago I felt like, ‘Hey, I still have quite a few years ahead of me.’ I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now.” — Novak Djokovic

70: “He’s just an extremely loud player — hits the ball big, serves huge, throwing his whole arm at that thing. He’s so pumped up. Comes to the net. He’s got great volleys. He’s really athletic. He’s a great player. He’s fun to watch. He’s saying the loudest ‘C’MON!” from the first point of the match till the last. He’s yelling. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s great for the sport.” — Frances Tiafoe on Ben Shelton

71: “The energy is insane. Honey Deuce’d out. It’s cool when you have 23,000 people come and watch two people just go to war. People trying to figure it out. You’re figuring it out against your opponent. It’s pretty surreal… Vibration, for sure. Seems like there’s a million people in there.” — Frances Tiafoe on playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium

72: “They’re the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest. They have allowed me to believe in this dream growing up. There weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was just them that I can remember. Obviously, more came because of their legacy, so it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.” — Coco Gauff on idols Venus and Serena Williams

73: “It’s a little bit emotional. I think in a sense it’s helping me free up a little bit. I’ve just got to try to empty the bucket here. One of the reasons I’m retiring is because my body is really sort of feeling it. But still alive. Got a lot of adrenaline keeping me going. We'll see what I can do.” — John Isner, who played the final tournament of his career

74: “I’m a zombie.” — Ons Jabeur, who, despite experiencing flu-like symptoms, reached the Round of 16

75: “I have been No. 2. Now I’m No. 1. It’s just a difference of position in the draw. I still have to bring my best tennis. I still have to play my best.” — Aryna Sabalenka

76: “This time around, I’ve been focusing more on myself and my expectations of myself, not going on social media or listening to people who believe that I can or believe that I can’t.” — Coco Gauff

77: “I love her, devotion, dedication. Maybe she’s too humble to say [it], too modest to say [it], but she's got a great fighting spirit, no doubt. She's a warrior, goes out there and doesn't give a single game. She probably has the most bagels of anyone in women's tennis the last few years. It speaks about how seriously and professionally she's taking every single point and game on the court. So that's very admirable. I really like that kind of champion spirit and mindset.” — Novak Djokovic on Iga Swiatek

78: “No, man, I was looking at the ball!” — Coco Gauff when asked if she spotted NBA star Jimmy Butler courtside

79: “The emotion takes over you. You kind of realize, ‘Wow, it’s really my last match here. I won’t be coming back here ever.’” — Two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Barbora Strycova, who has played her last professional match

80: “They were very frustrating times. But I don’t think I ever really stopped believing. I kind of knew that I could make it. I just didn’t really know how to do it yet.” — Tommy Paul on moments of doubt in his career

81: “There’s something about coming back to New York. I feel at home, at ease.” — Caroline Wozniacki

82: “Each person takes it in a different way. Me? Fear is always helping you because if you’re afraid to lose, you start to move faster, you start to be more active. You don’t want this to happen. It’s kind of motivating you more. Everyone has fear, is afraid of something. It’s normal. When people say they’re not afraid, they’re lying. It’s a feeling that everyone has. It’s a part of our lives. It’s just a matter of how you take it.” — Andre Rublev on the meaning of his ‘Fear is Your Friend’ T-shirt

83: “I’ve worked extremely hard to try to get to this point in my career in which I have the opportunity to do those things. I spent a lot of years on the non-glamorous side of professional tennis. Now if I get the chance to do some fun stuff, I’m going to take that opportunity. This past week has probably been one of the craziest and busiest weeks of my entire life, but I wouldn’t change anything for the world.” — Christopher Eubanks, who in addition to his preparation for the US Open, has been spotted everywhere from backstage at Hamilton to the CBS This Morning set

84: “He wanted to be in my ear the whole match. He was encouraging me, I mean, damn near coaching me. I had to go over there and give him some love.” — Tommy Paul on the young superfan who vociferously spurred him on as he roared back from two sets down at a major for the first time in his career

85: “There are some things that Novak does better. There are some things that Carlos does better. I think they are at a level of their own at the moment. The other guys gotta catch up. It’s as simple as that.” — Alexander Zverev

86: “As a kid, you have so many dreams. You know, as you get older sometimes it can fiddle away. I would tell her don’t lose that dream.” — Coco Gauff on the advice she would give her childhood self

87: “Surreal. I’ve had probably bigger wins ranking-wise in my career, but nothing was more special than today.” — Michael Mmoh after outlasting John Isner in his swansong, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(7)

88: “There is a song lyric that I want to use for my Instagram caption. It goes, ‘Concrete jungle, where dreams are made of…’ Yeah, that lyric is true. New York City is the city where dreams are made of.” — Coco Gauff

89: “If you want to do anything at a high level, you have to have a certain amount of discipline, a certain amount of sacrifice, a certain level of obsession. I think those are the three biggest things to be really successful in whatever your craft is, so to speak. But the game of tennis, it’s just you. You can’t lean on anybody. You’ve got to have a level of discipline. You’ve got to do it the days you don’t want to do it. You’ve got to sacrifice. You can’t do what everybody else is doing. You can’t hang out with your friends all the time. You’ve got to be obsessed with it. You’ve got to eat, sleep, breathe it. It’s got to mean that much to you.” — Frances Tiafoe

90: “I still have faith and belief in the single-handed backhand. I’m here to kind of not have it die… The reason I do play a single-handed backhand is because of Roger [Federer]. I kind of want to be his successor, as big as this may sound. I’m not even near that yet, but he definitely gave me a reason to pursue a single-handed backhand. Also, Pete Sampras was my hero growing up. These two tennis players make this shot extra special. It kind of sits in my heart deeply because I really want to be like them. I don’t want to copy them, but I just want to acknowledge their greatness through that shot.” — Stefanos Tsitsipas on his sweeping one-handed backhand, which he says “kind of defines me”

91: “My level has been poor and I have to do something about that. It’s very uncertain. I don’t know what I’ll do.” — No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari, who fell to Rebeka Masarova of Spain, 6-4, 6-4

92: “If I didn’t get injured, I don't think I’d be where I am today. That sounds corny and cliché, but it’s really true. I learned so much from those injuries and when I was hurt, I became obsessed with getting better. I was so much more anal and detail-oriented on everything I did: my warmups, my practices, my cooldowns, my rehab. Everything. That forced me to be really present. Rehab can be very monotonous and boring and a long process. I just wanted to do everything possible I could to try to make sure that I wouldn’t get hurt again.” — Jessica Pegula

93: “Over my life, I have definitely grown to really love tennis and love the grind. Of course, there are things I think we all want to change to allow ourselves to have more time to spend at home with friends and family that aren’t on the tour. But I’m super grateful at the end of the day for everything and I wouldn’t change all the things that I gave up to be here.” — Taylor Fritz

94: “It’s great with two people of color going at it. Obviously, a historic moment. But, ultimately, once you get out there, you just want to win.” — Frances Tiafoe, who fell to compatriot Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2

95: “It’s unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level as I am now. Some days it’s harder than others.” — Andy Murray, who suffered a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov

96: “I honestly think it’s harder on the Challenger tour than when you actually get to the level here. Not that this still isn’t hard, but to a certain extent when you’re on the Challenger tour, everyone just wants to win so freaking bad and they’re trying to get out of there. It’s, like, you’re on the back court on a bad court, the umpire sucks, you’re getting bad calls, there’s coaching. There’s all these things that don’t happen here that I think levels everybody out.” — Jessica Pegula

97: “I have to have an approach that is different from what it was 10 years ago. I have to adapt to my life and changes. I’m the father of two children. A lot of things are happening off the court that are obviously part of my life that affects me in one way or another, my mental state, my emotional state. I need to know how to handle all of these things and create a formula that works. So far, so good. I have a lot of people around me in terms of the medical, fitness, physiotherapy, kinesiology aspect to make sure that my body is recovered and is in shape in order to compete at the highest level. Mentally, there’s probably a lot more that I’m dealing with in my private life than it was the case 10 years ago. But that’s the beauty of life. Things are evolving, moving on.” — Novak Djokovic

98: “I think it’s very natural for the media to look for a story, and the story right now is Alcaraz and Novak. Last year, it was Rafa against everybody. In 2021, it was kind of a triangle with Novak, Daniil and myself. It’s natural for the media to find rivalries.” — Alexander Zverev

99: “In life, everyone goes through their journey in different ways and different timings. Just because your first tournament win is a Grand Slam doesn’t mean that you’re going to have an absolutely all-star career later on, or just because you win quickly or you win late, it doesn’t really define who you are. At the end of the day, everyone has their own path.” — Caroline Wozniacki

100: “Honestly, I was expecting a little bit more from her today.” — Jelena Ostapenko, despite a 6-0, 6-2 loss to the Coco Gauff.

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