Roman Abramovich

In Moscow I feel most comfortable. I’m used to four different seasons; it’s difficult for people in London to understand. People brought up in Russia like my kids want to play in the snow.

It was impossible to operate in the aluminium business without krysha – very real physical protection.

I never made any public statements, at least I tried never to make any public statements. I know I don’t do it well, I become very nervous, I forget what it is that I mean to say, I can’t really convey my logic and my thought to the journalists, so I decided this is not my thing, I really shouldn’t be doing it.

I’m realising my dream of owning a top football club. Some will doubt my motives, others will think I’m crazy.

I have no Napoleonic dream. I’m just hard working and pragmatic.

People who know me said I will win one or two Premierships and will not be interested after that. The reality is that we’ve won two Premierships but I’m more excited about this particular season than last year or the year before. I am a fan of special nature. I’m getting excited before every single game. The trophy at the end is less important than the process itself.

It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.

Certainly I would like to have some of the qualities of other players and obviously from Roger Federer. But believe me, there are plenty of other abilities that are important, particularly mindset and strength.

I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court. Being alone in the dark is something I don’t like.

The bad thing about the tennis calendar is how it is made and obligates you to play tournaments all year. If you want to achieve the most you can and go as high up in the rankings as you can, you have to play from the start to the finish because there are important tournaments from the beginning to the end.

My serve can get better, for sure. It’s not just about serving bombs, but positioning, variation in speed, in spin.

Tennis is a psychological sport, you have to keep a clear head. That is why I stopped playing.

Sport has the power to change the world.

For sure, I’m going to play less matches because I think it’s very difficult to win the same number of matches as last year. Maybe I’m going to play a little bit less, but I like playing tournaments; so if I feel good, I going to play for sure.

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 only ever run when there’s some point to it – say, if it’s in a game of tennis.

I have the same bedroom I’ve always had. It’s clean and tidy when I get home, and after two or three days it gets messy and my mother nags me.

What distinguishes tennis is respect for one’s opponent, one’s conduct on the court.

If you don’t lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things.

We’ll try and be very aggressive, we’ll try and speed up and change gears, and we’ll see who’s going to win.

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.