Sporting Quotes: Greg Chappell, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Others

Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Greg Chappell, Mark Taylor and Greg Matthews shine in this edition of "What They Said, Really Meant and Definitely Did Not."

Murray cannae gulp down fish for breakfast.

Matthews verbally spars for Simon Katich.

Roddick slams the ATP for trying to play for both sides.

Taylor wakes up to an Australian shambles.

And Chappell has mistakes to admit in his autobiography.

Andy Murray Dislikes Fish for Breakfast

What he said:

"The hardest thing is 45 minutes to an hour before going on court I have to get pasta and fish down and fish at that time of the morning isn’t great.”

Andy Murray is not voluntarily an early bird when it comes to taking to the tennis court.

The Scot is not enthused about having pasta and fish before his big match against Andy Roddick at the Paris Masters.

Murray added:

"

That’s why tennis is a bit challenging because you never know when you could play.

It’s something you get used to the more years you’re on the tour but it’s probably the earliest start I’ve had in six or seven years.

"

Murray lost in the quarters to Tomas Berdych.

What he really meant:

“I’d rather be fishing that early.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“More sauce with the pasta, please.”

Greg Matthews Fumes over Punches Not Thrown

What he said:

“One thing he got wrong was that he did not put one on Clarke when he should have.”

Former Australian off-spinner Greg Matthews opines on the spat between Australian opener Simon Katich and current skipper Michael Clarke.

Katich and Clarke were involved in an altercation in 2009 during which Katich grabbed Pup’s throat.

Cricket Australia have summoned Katich to a disciplinary hearing for claiming that Clarke was responsible for his Test sacking. Clarke denies the accusation.

Speaking to Foxsports, Matthews said:

"Can anyone truly, and I don’t care if the press are here or not, can anyone just truly say to me what did he get wrong?”

Matthews added:

"

If a guy speaks his mind, wouldn’t you rather hear what’s really going on in there, the way it really was? 
Who would you rather go into war with? This cat (Katich) or Clarke? Or Andrew Symonds for that matter? Everyone forgets about Andrew Symonds getting flicked as well. Truth doesn’t happen in this game anymore.

"

Matthews feels that Katich would have made a better skipper:

"Pick this guy (Katich) as captain, get (Tim) Paine in as vice-captain I tell you what, we’d be doing a lot better than how we’re doing today."

The disciplinary hearing is scheduled for November 21, 2011. Katich is represented by sports lawyer, Darren Kane.

In related news, Australian radio broadcaster Alan Jones threw his voice behind the disgruntled opener.

Speaking to the Sun Herald, Jones said:

"

These people want robots. Cricket Australia don’t employ Simon Katich. What’s he guilty of? He’s guilty of having an opinion…There’s not one sporting person in Australia who would agree with what’s being done to Katich.

[Cricket Australia] could not justify dismissal on merit. Now, is he a bad example? Has he behaved badly? He’s a role model to all cricketers. His standards, his manner, his values and courtesy have shone and they’re the reasons why he was touted as a future Australian cricket captain and why he was brought from Perth to captain NSW.

And now he’s being presented as some sort of pariah. It won’t wash...Cricket Australia are playing with fire.

"

What Greg Matthews really meant:

“What’s a punch-up without a punch?”

What Greg Matthews definitely didn’t:

“Who’s punch-drunk?”

Andy Roddick Is Cognizant About Negotiations

What he said:

“Listen, you don’t go into negotiation and have someone represent both sides.”

Andy Roddick is not convinced that the ATP system is in the players’ best interests.

The men’s body is currently seeking a fresh CEO.

Roddick said:

"

Hopefully someone can get in there and win the battle of rhetoric one of these times and get someone to approve some changes. But under the present system, he really can’t. Some of the good ol’ boys club have it figured out pretty good. It’s not an easy position. It’s not as if we haven’t had smart people. We have had different types; very abrasive kind of showy personalities in there; we’ve had more of a demure, quiet, smart person in there. We’ve covered our personality bases. I think at a certain point you have to look at the system as being flawed as opposed to continually looking for the scapegoat.

"

The ATP board consists of seven members including the CEO; three are tournament representatives and the other three present the players’ views.

The 10-member ATP Player Council elect the player representatives.

Roddick feels that it’s “an impossible situation” for the ATP head.

"

Listen, you don’t go into negotiation and have someone represent both sides. It just doesn’t happen in any business transaction or negotiation. I don’t think it’s the CEO’s fault. It’s an impossible situation. I think the system is suspect.

"

What he really meant:

“Negotiations are not about eating your cake and keeping it too.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Let them eat cake.”

Mark Taylor Sleeps Through It All

What he said:

“I thought I’d missed a whole day of my life.”

Mark Taylor wakes up to discover Team Australia in dire straits in the first Test at Cape Town.

Australia scored 284 in their first innings, then bundled out the Proteas for 96 only to collapse for a paltry 47 in their second innings.

When Taylor went to bed, South Africa were 1-49 at lunch. Taylor was woken up by his phone ringing at 1:10 am (AUS time) to discover his home side 7 down for 21.

South Africa went on to clinch the Test scoring the required 236 in 50.2 overs.

What he really meant:

“What’s Test cricket come to when I can’t get a good night’s sleep?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The Big Bash’s arrived in South Africa—early.”

Greg Chappell Does Not Term It a "Clash of Cultures"

What he said:

"The mistakes I made were not particularly ‘western’.”

Former India coach Greg Chappell ruminates on his failures with the Indian cricket team in his autobiography, “Fierce Focus.”

Chappell had a stormy tenure from 2005 to 2007 ending with the team’s first-round exit at the 2007 ODI World Cup.

The Australian great regrets his tiff with icon Sachin Tendulkar when he insisted that the master bat revert to his No. 4 position in ODIs.

Chappell wrote:

"

My biggest regret was falling out with Sachin over him batting at No. 4 in the one-day team. It was a shame because he and I had some intense and beneficial talks together prior to that. My impatience to see improvement across the board was my undoing in the end.

"

Chappell elaborates:

"

The mistakes I made were not particularly "western" but the same kind of mistakes I’d made as a captain in my playing days. I didn’t communicate my plans well enough to the senior players. I should have let guys like Tendulkar, (VVS) Laxman and (Virender) Sehwag know that although I was an agent of change, they were still part of our Test future. 
When I did communicate with them, I was sometimes too abrupt. Once in South Africa, I called in Sachin and Sehwag to ask more of them, I could tell by the look on their faces that they were affronted.

Later (Rahul) Dravid, who was in the room, said "Greg, they’ve never been spoken to like that before."

"

What he really meant:

“Autocrats are not an exclusively western phenomena, are they?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Change is a one-way process.”