Boris Becker

I lost in the second round of the French Open and had 10 days off. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was exciting to be away from my parents, to stay in a hotel. Hotels at 17 meant freedom.

Thats the hard part about sport: as men we havent started to be in our prime, but as athletes we are old people. I needed support. I lost trust and did stupid things.

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

I was in the tennis bubble. I wasn’t thinking about the big picture. I didn’t notice what they said on television, I wasn’t reading any papers. I had a coach and a manager, and they kept me in the bubble.

I met with my lawyers. They gave me all the wrong advice. For a long time I refused to accept the child was mine. I should have met her, arranged a DNA test and accepted my responsibility.

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 don’t think we are so ugly that we should be seen as the devil and I don’t think Arsene Wenger and David Dein are so beautiful that they should be viewed as angels.

Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong.

If the plane moves, some turbulence, I am nervous flyer.

I always wanted to be honest with myself and to those who have had faith in me.

The fifth set is not about tennis, it’s about nerves.

I cannot win this year but I can play good on grass

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

You just try to play tough and focus point for point. Sounds so boring, but it’s the right thing to do out there.

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.

You can swim any way you like in the Dead Sea, actually.

I need to improve, I want to improve, and to be able to stay in London and play on grass before Wimbledon is a very good opportunity for me.

The boys are so powerful off of the baseline now that they don’t have to come to the net to finish points. That’s the reason we went to the net. To finish the point. Nowadays, even the big guys can hit winners four feet behind the baseline.

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

It should not be a child’s only goal to become the best player in the world. That would be a bad, a harmful attitude.

Andre Sa is playing close to his potential – maybe even above it.