Rafael Nadal

It’s not the time to look for excuses.

Honesty, willingness to exert oneself, friendship – all these things shaped me too.

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.

I was passionate about soccer. I still am. Odd, though – playing soccer always made me much more anxious than playing tennis. On soccer days, I’d be out of bed by 6 in the morning, all nervous. But I was always calm when it was time for a tennis match. I still don’t know why.

I learned during all my career to enjoy suffering.

Some people may learn something from the way I play tennis. But there are also players who are better than me in certain techniques.

I don’t have any idols, any heroes, nothing, no.

I play because I have fun, if I don’t have fun on the court, there is something wrong. I am just a 19 year old boy that likes to do what he likes, nothing else.

Something that works for one person could be a disadvantage to another.

Honesty, willingness to exert oneself, friendship – all these things shaped me too.

[on Roman Abramovich] We were never friends – José Mourinho

Confidence is the most important thing in this sport, and the confidence from winning Wimbledon would make it easier to win the Olympics, too. Either would be very difficult, both even more-but the player who wins Wimbledon will be the favorite for the Olympics. It can happen.

I became a player who goes to a lot of effort while training, who can rely on his will and his mental strengths.

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.

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.

No one is perfect. Everybody does stupid things.

Outside the manager, John [Terry] and I have probably the closest relationship with Roman. We speak to him sometimes just minutes after a game to discuss how it went and at other times when he wants to gauge our views on specific subjects … Abramovich is also very like Mourinho in his thirst to discover the reasons behind a certain event or result.

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 really, really emotional.

I go to the gym, I swim daily and from time to time I meet with friends and do extra-curricular stuff.

Even if I have already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the illusion that I’m going to get better that day.