Funny, profound, inspiring... there was plenty to talk about during the Fortnight
Serena Williams explains what keeps driving her after winning a record equalling 22nd Grand Slam:
“Venus came out with a good saying: ‘Great players are greedy – they’re never satisfied.’ That was so perfectly said. When you’re great, you are greedy. You want more. You keep going back to the table for more, to eat more. There is no ‘enough’. You have to be really selfish. This is how it is: I come first.”
Novak Djokovic looks on the bright side after his shock third round defeat by Sam Querrey:
“Well, I believe in positive things in life. I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row two different seasons, though. I want to try to focus on that rather than on failure.”
Andy Murray tries to ease the concerns of a nation dealing with an outgoing Prime Minister, England football manager, and Top Gear host in the space of a month:
“It’s not that bad, is it? Is it that bad? There’s a lot more hopes left than me. I just try my best at this event to make all the people that watch happy. Hopefully I can win a couple more, and that’s it.”
Milos Raonic, who reached his first Grand Slam final at The Championships, recalls his modest beginnings in the sport:
"My earliest memory was when I tried out for this coach, Casey, in Toronto. I wasn't good enough to be in the program then. I was just short of nine years old. Me and my father started on the ball machine every morning, at six in the morning, and nine at night, because that's when court fees were affordable enough for us. That's when they gave us a deal. I remember that ball machine pretty well.”
Venus Williams, the third player to reach the Ladies’ Singles semi-finals after her 36th birthday, discusses what she has learnt since being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011:
“It's hard to say just one lesson. It's easy to be afraid. You have to let fear go. Another lesson is you just have to believe in yourself – you just have to. There's no way around it. You've got to believe in yourself. No matter how things are stacked against you, you just have to every time.”
Roger Federer, the seven-time former champion, rues the 11th final that got away after losing the fourth set to Milos Raonic:
“This one clearly hurts because I felt I could have had it. So close. It was really so, so close. It clearly hurts. Something went wrong. I don't know – I can't believe I served a double fault twice. Unexplainable for me really. Very sad about that, and angry with myself because never should I allow him to get out of that set that easily.”
Dominika Cibulkova may not have made the Ladies’ Singles final, but she still had cause for celebration on Saturday – her wedding:
“We chose the date because I never saw myself as such a great grass court player. But now I’ve won Eastbourne last week and reached the quarter‑finals here I have changed my mind. It’s funny, because last week I had a dream that it was already my wedding day on Saturday. And then I woke up and said: ‘No, I have to play match today. We are still at Wimbledon!’”
Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber has no regrets after her Ladies’ Singles final performance against Serena Williams:
“After this amazing two weeks, I just can say that I gave everything. Of course, I'm disappointed. But at the end I'm also proud about what I did, also after Paris. I reached my second Grand Slam final in this year. It was amazing final. I really enjoyed the final today. It was a great atmosphere out there. I will never forget the feeling.”
Gordon Reid, the inaugural Gentlemen’s Wheelchair Singles champion at Wimbledon, on his hopes to inspire another generation of wheelchair tennis players:
“I hope it can. For me, this sport helped me so much in my recovery from my condition, my life in general. It's helped me a lot. Because we're busy as professional full‑time athletes, we don't always get the opportunity to give back to the sport that I'd probably like to do. If this can help in some way, inspire more people, get more people playing, if it helps some other kids the same way it helped me, then that's just as special to me as winning the title.”
Marcus Willis, who started The Championships as the world No.772 before his eight-match run from pre-qualifying to the second round and a Centre Court showdown with Roger Federer:
“It was all just a blur. It was amazing. I did enjoy myself even though I was getting duffed up. I loved every bit of it. Not the duffing bit. I loved getting stuck in, fighting hard. Nothing in particular, just the whole experience was incredible. It's amazing. Not my standard Wednesday, that.”
Nicolas Mahut, Gentlemen’s Doubles champion with compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert, explains his emotional reaction after winning the title:
“I said since I played tennis that Wimbledon is the greatest tournament. You know, when you win the match point in the final, you just realise that you're going to have your name written on the trophy and everywhere. Being the champions here in Wimbledon, it's a dream come true for me.”