Quotable Quips: This Week in Tennis Quotes

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Welcome to Quotable Quips, where we scour the internet, the pressers, the match recaps, and whatever else we can get our hands on to get a handle on who said what, why who said what, and what who might have meant when who said what.

Let's start with a 3-pack from the queen of quotes, Serena Williams:

1. Referring to her ankle injury, sustained in Brisbane during a victory over Bojana Jovanovski: "If it's not OK I'm definitely talking to my friend Jack tonight, so we'll see. He loves ice too."

2. On Twitter, in an apparent 180 after her much-interpreted I'm not in love with tennis revelation and the ankle injury/ Jack quote: "Being an athlete requires sacrifice, discipline & heart. There is no winning without hard work. I'm about to overcome this."

3. Via Twitter, on New Year's Eve (this one explains a lot): "I definitely have a screw loose."

Moving on, let's get to some more serious stuff:

Bernard Tomic, on his feelings of manliness, which were fueled by his semifinal appearance in Brisbane: "I feel much more confident. I'm stronger physically. It's a better feeling out there knowing you're not a young kid anymore, with players overpowering you."

Marion Bartoli, on her feelings of guilt after double-bageling Jarmila Gajdasova at Hopman Cup: "I'm sorry I beat her that way but I was just focusing on my own game and not looking at the scoreboard."

Flavia Pennetta, discussing her relationship with Carlos Moya, in her recently released book, entitled "Straight to the Heart:" "I was trying to be numb towards life, not to feel pain. I did not even feel physical (pain). A silly example: even when I was waxing, I did not even feel anything."

Margaret Court, in an interview with Ben Rothenberg of NYT Straight Sets, when asked why she feels she is being misunderstood with regard to her stance on gay marriage: "Well, I think one of the tennis girls said, "Why do I hate homosexual people?" And I don't hate homosexual people. That's been put out there, and I think that's very wrong."

Milos Raonic, on his plan for world domination, after taking out Janko Tipsarevic in Chennai: "My job is to take care of my serve."

An anything but overconfident Kaia Kanepi, on her amazing run that led to her winning the Brisbane title: "I have to be ready because history has shown that nothing comes easy for me."

Yanina Wickmayer, who returned from a five-month hiatus due to back issues, on being scheduled on an outside court in Auckland earlier in the week: "I guess five months off and you're nobody, huh?"

And, finally, we'll close with some more humorous quotes (and if you haven't watched the YouTube video at the top of the page, you might get a laugh or two out of that as well):

Jack Reader, Alexandr Dolgopolov's coach, on his charge's volleys: "I hate his volleys. It's like he is waving a wand around instead of punching the volley forward."

Andrea Hlavackova, after winning the doubles title in Auckland, on how she originally paired up with her partner Lucie Hradecka: "I kind of stole her from another player."