Keeping things in perspective

Andrea Petkovic is one of the great philosophers of tennis (and probably life). There is no questioning that.

The former Roland-Garros semi-finalist writes a column for a German publication, has contributed to Racquet magazine, and can take you on a ride during her wildly entertaining press conferences.

Following her third-round defeat to Ashleigh Barty on Saturday, the 31-year-old German took to Twitter to provide an interesting perspective around how she felt about her loss. She said it in a way only Petko really can.

"Yeah, I got beaten pretty badly today by @ashbar96 (well done, buddy) but here is why I love this sport - A THREAD," Petkovic posted.

"While waiting for my match I was fortunate enough to watch SO. MANY. THINGS. happening at around roughly the same time.

"I watched Jan Lennard Struff serve&volleying ON CLAY saving breakpoint after breakpoint at 8:8 in the fifth.

"I watched Madison Keys yell COME ON at herself in a changeover over and over again after saving breakpoints at 4:4 in the third in only the most keysian way possible (HELLO FH DOWN THE LINE ON THE RUN WINNER FASTER THAN LIGHTENING).

"Her opponent Blinkova meanwhile LOST HER RACQUET DURING A FIRST SERVE WHILE SERVING TO STAY IN THE MATCH after coming back from a break down in the third in all of her previous matches.

"Two guys with one handed backhands (you know who you are!) hit the ball so freaking hard that they had to stand back behind the baseline so far I couldn’t find them on the TV screen anymore.

"A Polish teenager was crying with joy as her opponent Monica Puig fell on her knees in desperation when serving a double fault in a crucial moment.

"Oh, human tragedy with misery and joy so close to each other they sometimes grab hands and dance in the rain with the devils!

"We have a court in a botanic garden. We have a court named after a 20s fashion icon. AND A WHOLE TOURNAMENT NAMED AFTER A FREAKING PILOT!

"What I wanna say is: this sport is crazy and I love it and I hate it. But most of all: It is ours, isn’t it! Happy tennising everybody!"

The one and only Andrea Petkovic, everyone!

Sarah Edworthy examines the reaction of different players to their losses here in Paris, contrasting their various philosophies in defeat.

Keeping it private

Lucas Pouille doesn’t want to reveal where he’s at: “I know at what point I am and not everything is relevant for you. You just have to go on the Internet, look at the results, and that's it. The rest, it's my business. It's the business of my team and myself.”

…and turns the tables. “Maybe it happened in your life that you had problems, things that were not moving as smoothly as you wanted, or you were able to immediately correct the situation. I don't know. I don't know you.”

At a loss for words

Angelique Kerber, who was knocked out by Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-2 in the first round: “She really played good. I tried my best. Of course it's not like I hoped for. What else can I say?”

How does she put a difficult year in perspective? “The year was with up-and-downs and right now I lost here the first round, so what should I say?”

Straight talk

Kristina Mladenovic, who lost to Petra Martic 6-2, 6-1 in the second round: “My analysis is very simple. She just dominated me in every single field of the game today. She was much better than me today. There is nothing else to say. The score speaks for itself.”

Getting poetic

Julia Goerges, after losing to Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-1 in a season hampered by injury and lack of match practice. “Well, [my serve], it's one of my biggest weapons, which was sleeping a bit today, I think.”

Sharing her friend Serena Williams’ auto-response

Caroline Wozniacki, after her three-set loss in the first round to Veronika Kudermetova: “I think I just lost a little steam in the end and I made some unforced errors that I normally don't do, so that was very frustrating. And, yeah, it is what it is.”

Baring her soul

Naomi Osaka puts the gravity of her shock third-round defeat into perspective (defeated by Katerina Siniakova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2): “I don't want to say I feel depressed, but I do. I think it's a natural part of life, especially if you train super hard for moments like these, and then you don't perform how you want to. I feel like saying that ‘I'm depressed’ is a very strong statement. Because I felt that way before, and it's not as extreme as that. So I would just say I'm very disappointed in how I played, and I wish I could have done better.”

The eternal student

Victoria Azarenka on her attitude after losing the blockbuster match-up with world No.1 Naomi Osaka (4-6, 7-5, 6-3): “I have been very efficient with taking lessons from my losses and trying to make them better in the next match. So that's very optimistic for me - I know I'm going to learn a lot from today.”

… not worrying about the uncontrollables. How frustrating is it for her not to be seeded?  “I don't waste my time on something I can't really change, so it's irrelevant.”

… and the “joy” of losing. “I'm sitting here with a loss, but I know what I need to do better, so it keeps me optimistic, and I do enjoy this. No matter how hard it is, it's my path that I'm going to walk with my head held high, and I'm going to do everything I can until the moment where I decide, You know what? I'm not interested in that anymore.”

Textbook positivity

David Goffin after losing to Nadal, but taking a set off the king of clay. “I'm disappointed obviously. This is a defeat. I'm out of the tournament. This is the end of a Grand Slam. This is when you take stock of the situation. And it's unfortunate because there were many good things. My game was in place. Therefore, I do think that there are positive things to use during the next season. I was competitive, creative, spontaneous, and that is my strength, and it's the most important.”

Accepting you're dependent on your body

Kyle Edmund after retiring mid-match when playing Pablo Cuevas in the second round: “It kind of just becomes part of your life, waking up with something a little bit sore, so you get on with it. You sort of take enjoyment out of pushing through things and trying to - you know, a bit like there's more obstacles, but in a weird way you take enjoyment by pushing through it and achieving things.”