By John Horn (@sportshorn)
Indian Wells, CA
Indian Wells, CA
Every year media from around the world gather in a small room at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells as the ATP & WTA parade in the top players competing at this years tournament.
One after the other in no particular order, players gather at a small table and field all sorts of questions on a variety of topics. From on court to off court, positives and negatives, politics and drug tests and even questions about food.
Here are some of the best responses to the questions the players faced on Wednesday
Simona Halep:
On changing one rule in the sport of tennis
“To start the year a little bit later to have a New Year’s party at home”
On her coach Darren Cahill
“He is too relaxed for me. Sometimes I get pissed that he is too relaxed and he looks like he doesn’t care when I lose but he tries just to keep me positive”
On good friend Petra Kvitova:
“I sent her a message and today (Wednesday) is her birthday. She’s trying to come back. We miss her, I’m sure she will come back. She is okay”
Agnieszka Radwanska:
On how her life is these days
“I’m just getting old. Indian Wells reminds me of my birthday. I don’t feel old though”
On her love of American restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory a place she visits every year while at this tournament
“Of course it’s a tradition. 10th year at the Cheesecake Factory” (Q: What’s the best cheesecake ) “Oreo”
On Eugenie Bouchard going on a Twitter date with fan
“To be honest, some of the people want to be on the radar all the time some of them not. I am not the one that would do something like that. Her choice”
Svetlana Kuznetsova:
On the world class chefs who have restaurants here on the Indian Wells grounds for both the fans and players
“I think it’s great, it means that the tournament is huge. They allow us to eat their great food. I was just having lunch in the players area and I just got four boxes of sushi and it cost me $80.00 (US) and I was like what? But I’d rather pay for quality food”
On what it’s like being a Russian in America these days
“In Russia we have every second joke is about Trump…like Trump being sent to here by Putin.
That Putin sent Trump to be the President of the United States.”
On her tattoos
“Tattoos are very personal thing it’s the worst thing to ask someone (smiling)”
Kei Nishikori:
On whether it’s more difficult to be a tennis star in Japan or in Great Britain like Andy
“Well, he’s doing better so it’s a different story (laughs). If I lived in Japan I would go crazy, for sure. I wouldn’t be at this type of level”
Andy Murray:
On the “Group of Death” bottom quarter of the draw
“Amazing, amazing draw really. I’ve never seen anything like that, one of the toughest sections of a draw of all time. It’s exciting for tennis fans, there will be some good matches early on in the tournament. There’s even guys like Verdasco in there, dangerous dangerous players like that, it’s definitely tough on the guys that are down there”
Karolina Pliskova:
On turning down photoshoots or sponsor events
“I usually say no to everything (laughing) I don’t need this stuff. I do a few press conferences after some wins and that’s it. It’s my choice”
On whether she dreamt of doing magazine shoots as a young player
“I was not raised this way, I just want to play good tennis for me that’s the main goal I just don’t need to be on every magazine”
Roger Federer:
On the ”Group of Death” bottom quarter of the draw
“First message I got was Dudi Sela or Stéphane Robert and I’m like ‘okay fine.’ Then I heard that Rafa was in my section and I was like ‘okay.’
“And then that maybe Novak’s in my section and I’m ‘okay fine,’” he said smiling. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve gone through so many draws. I came here to Indian Wells to play against those guys, so it doesn’t matter if it’s the semis, the finals or actually a fourth round….I think it’s good for me to play those guys early. I look forward to it.”
On whether he has seen anything like that portion of the draw
“I’ve definitely had a lot of tough draws. I remember playing, in 2004, in Dubai after winning against (Marat) Safin in the finals of the Australian Open. I played him in the first round in Dubai because he was still unseeded. That was tough, that was probably tougher than Dudi Sela – Stéphane Robert.”
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were not on hand for today’s media session. Both players are expected to speak on Thursday ahead of their first matches at Indian Wells.
