Rafael Nadal

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.

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

The record of Borg and Vilas? I have thought about it.

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.

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.

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.

I had the pleasure of competing at the Olympic Games and at Wimbledon and was fortunate enough to win the gold medal in both events,

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

You fight, you try your best, but if you lose, you don’t have to break five racquets and smash up the locker room. You can do those things, but when you’ve finished, nothing’s changed. You’ve still lost. If something positive came from that, I probably would do it. But I see only negativity.

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

My feeling would be that you lose something of the beauty of the Premiership by joining something not defined at the moment.

I love the crowds in Miami. I feel that is one of the tournaments where I get more support. That helps me a lot.

It is unbelievable to me that I can win against the best player in the world, against one of the best in history. It’s very important and very special for me, especially because I was three months off the court.

When one player is better than you, at this moment, the only thing you can do is work, try to find solutions and try to wait a little bit for your time. I’m going to wait and I’m going to try a sixth time. And if the sixth doesn’t happen, a seventh. It’s going to be like this. That’s the spirit of sport.

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 always like to do the things that I think are right. I am not trying to be a model, I am trying to be myself and do the right things. If what I am doing is a model, or is an example, is the right example, I am very happy, but I don’t pretend that.

With Almagro, boy, that’ll be a tough match. He’s playing at a very high level right now and he hits the ball hard.

Always I believe that I can play better. But I am happy.

If you are playing bad you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach.

I’m not a God, I make mistakes.

The goal is to win. It’s not about making money. I have many much less risky ways of making money than this (buying Chelsea football club). I don’t want to throw my money away, but it’s really about having fun and that means success and trophies.