Video: Federer's 17 Slams, plus Quotes of the Weekend

Rog's peerless record

Published Jul 17, 2012

It was splendid to see Jennifer Capriati joined by Monica Seles on stage this past Saturday at the former's induction to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (photo here). Meanwhile, on the men's side of the court, the ATP has compiled footage culled from coverage of all 17 of Roger Federer's Grand Slam singles title matches. It's inspiring and staggering at the same time:

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Without further ado, this past weekend's quotables:

Pete Sampras, on Roger Federer topping his record of 286 weeks at No. 1: "The hardest thing to do in sports is the ability to stay on top. Roger has been able to do so by great play and durability." (link)

Jennifer Capriati, on herself and Monica Seles, who introduced her at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony: "We both started so young. We were both tennis prodigies. We both faced challenges both on and off the court." (link)

Gustavo Kuerten, on playing on clay: "I believe it's the surface you have to suffer more. You have to be out there for many hours. You have to use every weapon you can and fight like a warrior. It's fun to try." (link)

Kuerten once more, on Capriati: ''Jennifer, I don't want to compare my career to yours. Otherwise they'd think about having me."

Rajeev Ram, on Newport semifinal foe Lleyton Hewitt, winner of the 2001 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2002: "I hope I'm still playing when he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame because that's going to happen someday." (link)

Ram again, on his split from doubles partner Scott Lipsky: "...We decided that the summer is hot and tough and I really wanted to focus on my singles. It's a tough situation because doubles takes practice as well and it’s hard for me to spend the time on court with him, and that’s unfair, so we are taking a little break." (link) (More on Ram via his hometown magazine here.)

Serena Williams, on returning to the U.S. Open after her final matches in 2009 and 2011 ended with flare-ups: "If someone makes me really angry I might have to get into a little bit of an argument, but my goal is to try to stay calm if I can. If not I’m going out with a bang as I did the past two years." (link)

What were your favorite words from the weekend? Or did someone's racquet speak the loudest?

—Jonathan Scott (Talk to me on Twitter @jonscott9.)

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