Rafael Nadal

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.

More than anything, believe that you can win.

I would love to learn other languages, maybe French? My uncle speaks German so maybe also German? Chinese seems to be too difficult.

To be a friend means that they are always there, for the good or the bad.

It’s already a great feeling to be third on the list. To get past Borg, I will have to reach the final in Barcelona next week. It won?t be easy. I could lose any day. But if I am 100 per cent I know I have a great chance of winning.

I think when you compete every week, when you play under pressure daily, you find your rituals to be 100 percent focused on what you’re doing.

If somebody says I am better than Roger, I think this person doesn’t know anything about tennis.

Money plays an important role in football but it is not the dominating factor. When Chelsea play a Carling Cup game in a small city and it could result in a draw – the excitement, the spirit, the atmosphere – that’s the real beauty of football in England.

I am going to fight for important things.

It’s more a tennis problem than a mental problem. The transition is difficult. It depends how much time you have. Playing on grass can sometimes be a bit of a lottery.

Gaudio is playing very well. Today he played at an incredible level, especially on his backhand. But I am only thinking of my own game, and of playing well.

I think the tennis is only a game. You can lose. You can win. After that? In life, there are much more important things than tennis.

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.

I just try to win the match by fighting for every point, and running down every ball.

My motivation is tomorrow, just one day at a time, right?

It’s important to have people around you with enough confidence to say if you are not acting in a good way. Normally, when you are at the top, people say everything is fantastic. Probably in that moment it is what you want to hear, but it’s best to be reminded how to act properly.

Playing well or playing bad, I have to play aggressive. I must play aggressive.

All sports are continuously developing, but what they all have in common is that the speed is increasing. That’s also true of tennis; the ball is getting faster and faster.

I’m getting excited before every single game. The trophy at the end is less important than the process itself.

Two weeks ago, I was in a fantastic situation, winning at Roland Garros. Now, losing in the first round, it’s tough. The tour continues. Life continues. This is a sport of victories, not a sport of losses. Nobody remembers the losses. I don’t want to remember the loss.

Every year I go to Broadway to see a musical – I like the music. I saw ‘Mamma Mia;’ I saw ‘Les Miserables;’ I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ like six, seven times.