Rafael Nadal

No one is perfect. Everybody does stupid things.

Being home alone at night makes me a bit nervous. If I’m at home alone, I have to sleep on the sofa – I can’t face going to bed. I’m there with the TV on and all the lights on. I’m not very brave about anything in life. In tennis, yes. In everything else, not very.

I have no interest in becoming a tax exile and living somewhere I don’t want to – I just want to be at home with my family.

Don’t think about being the number one in the world, try instead to get through today’s program as well as you can. Then we will see whether one day you’ll end up as number one or number 100.

I admire a lot of people, but in terms of sport I’ve always loved the mentality of Tiger Woods on a golf course. I always love his eyes when he’s setting himself and focusing on his decision; he has a really strong, focused face and believes that he can make the shot.

I am afraid of a lot of things. A dog. I could be afraid of a dog that’s upset, for example. And on the tennis courts, maybe on the outside I look fearless, but on the inside, I’m scared. There’s not one player in the world who isn’t nervous before matches. Especially important matches.

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.

I am happy with being a tennis player and the choice I took when I was 12. But clearly, if I wouldnt have been a tennis player, I would have loved to be a soccer player. But again, I am happy with the choice I made.

I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to play.

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.

Before, I wouldn’t have sacrificed anything for tennis but when I met Barbara it was different. I would have sacrificed tennis for Barbara.

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.

I have lived my whole life with high intensity.

Is more for precaution. You don’t know tomorrow what’s happen, no? But now I am happy because I don’t feel too much pain. But I can finish the match, so that’s a good sign.

I am thrilled to be the new team captain. I am sure that the pressures I’ve faced on centre court will stand me in good stead to battle it out against Ian and his team.

More than anything, believe that you can win.

The eyes of some of the fans at Davis Cup matches scare me. There’s no light in them. Fixed emotions. Blind worship. Horror. It makes me think of what happened to us long ago.

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.

I’ll never have a tattoo – I just don’t like them, and when you’re old they can look a disaster. As for piercings, I don’t like them on men.

In tennis, because of the way it’s scored, I don’t think that scoring one point out of luck is ever decisive in winning. But, of course, it depends on the moment.

Today people hit the ball with much more strength. Almost every player is capable of playing a winning stroke from any position. This means the balls arrive more quickly. If you want to reach them, you have to slow down from a high speed or suddenly change direction. These are moments when you can injure yourself, and that’s what wears us out.