Rafael Nadal

I feel that love. I feel that energy. I always felt that energy when I’m playing in New York.

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.

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.

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.

When one gets beaten by somebody better, one has to know how to lose with humility. Sure, I could have served better. Sure, I could have hit my forehand harder. But the truth was this was like an avalanche, and there was no way to stop it.

I tried to find a solution to the problem that I had, tried to find a way to start playing better.

I appreciate a lot in this life; the things you cannot buy. Life is only once.

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.

How does one control weight? By not overeating. How does one stay in shape? One plays sports. There are no magic pills here.

I love basketball.

I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last.

[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.

It’s not that difficult to play well and win titles in a team like Barcelona, but it’s in the national side where you see a player’s true class. That was the case with figures like Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. With Spain, Iniesta has shown that he is among the best players of all time and that’s why I rate him higher than Messi or Ronaldo. Even though the latter two have incredible scoring records for their clubs, they still haven’t won anything with Argentina or Portugal respectively.

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.

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

Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions.

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.

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’m not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I’m amongst the best. That’s true. That’s enough for me.

The first match is never easy. To play three sets with some important moments, that’s important for the confidence.