Boris Becker

I don’t really care what the man on the street thinks. I never did anything to please him in the first place, and I’m not going to start now.

I didn’t start a war. Nobody died.

Where do you go when you’re the best in the world? What’s next?

I believed in raising my children as I had been raised.

The only thing I had on my mind was tennis, and sometimes girls,… My life was all about tennis. My office was the whole world. The word home didn’t really exist.

[Roger Federer] We have a guy from Switzerland who is just playing the game in a way I haven’t seen anyone – and I mean anyone – play before. How fortunate we are to be able to see that. If he stays healthy and motivated – and the wonderful feel he has stays with him – he is the kind of guy who can overtake the greatest.

Some people get very confused about my game. They think it’s better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.

Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.

I swim almost every day, a thousand meters.

I didn’t play a great match, but once I pass the first two rounds, things get easier. I’m used to the court and the conditions.

Always I believe that I can play better. But I am happy.

I take pleasure in tennis and the hope that it requires.

I always like to do the things that I think are right. I am not trying to be a model, I am trying to be myself and do the right things. If what I am doing is a model, or is an example, is the right example, I am very happy, but I don’t pretend that.

I am a guy who likes to do what I am doing with passion, whether it’s a soccer match with friends or golf.

I doubt about myself. I think doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things-arrogance or not intelligence.

The guy comes up to the plate, there’s always a chance where he can get a grand slam and everybody forgets about all the times he missed.

It is important to recognize the small successes.

Above all, such sports as judo, in my view, teach people to relate to each other. They teach us to respect a partner, teach us to understand that an externally weak partner can not only put up worthy resistance, but, if you relax and take too much for granted, may even win.

I play each point like my life depends on it.

As a tennis player you can win and you can lose, and you have to be ready for both. I practised self-control as a kid. But as you get older they both – winning and losing – get easier.

Andre Sa is playing close to his potential – maybe even above it.