Here is a selection of the best quotes from the first day of the 2023 tournament at the All England Club:

• “The holy grail, the temple of tennis.”

— Novak Djokovic after winning his 40th consecutive match on Centre Court.

• “I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass.”

— Venus Williams, who suffered a nasty fall early in her defeat to Elina Svitolina.

• “You do know I’m not from Russia, right?”

— Victoria Azarenka, who is most definitely from Belarus, when asked by a reporter to explain what “Wimbledon means to people in Russia”.

• “I think it’s a very thoughtful addition, because there are obvious situations that can be tricky and uncomfortable.”

— Azarenka on the decision to allow female players to wear dark-coloured underwear to alleviate period anxiety.

• “We’re already playing in Dubai, playing in Doha, so I don’t see the real issue to go there honestly.”

— Casper Ruud has no issue with the ATP possibly staging tournaments in Saudi Arabia.

• “There was better options. Not just to ban. Because in the end, it was no difference. They did only worse to themselves.”

— Russia’s Andrey Rublev reflecting on Wimbledon’s decision last year to ban all Russian and Belarusian players in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

• “I say ‘hi’ to them. Some people, they reply, some not. Like others, I just say we are here as tennis players.”

— Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on tensions with Ukraine players in the locker room.

• “I remember walking into a bar last year. I went to show the guy my ID in Manchester. He said, You look about 35, you don’t need to show me your ID.”

— Britain’s Liam Broady, who is 29.

• “I’m playing the No. 4 in the world, second round of Wimbledon. I’ll play him back up in Stockport if I have to. I don’t mind.”

— Broady on the possibility of facing fourth-ranked Casper Ruud on Centre Court or Court One.

• “I feel like I’m just grateful, but I need to study. Sorry.”

— Iga Swiatek when asked to comment on the battle for equal prize money at Wimbledon, which was won in 2007 when she was only six years old.

• “I’m like, ‘Relax, she’s 12, she’s good, she’ll be fine’.”

— Jessica Pegula on seeing pushy parents attempting to cajole their daughters into become better players.

(With inputes from AFP)

Updated: 04 Jul 2023, 02:36 AM IST