I’m really, really emotional.
It is no longer enough to play very well. You need to be able to give an answer at all times and everywhere. You cannot hide. This has something to do with maturity, and that is something you only acquire over the years.
Anyone could become a star, but everyone must be a human being.
Why would I want a place of my own? Then I would have to things worry about, like doing laundry and having food in the fridge.
As a tennis player you can win and you can lose, and you have to be ready for both. I practised self-control as a kid. But as you get older they both – winning and losing – get easier.
I appreciate a lot in this life; the things you cannot buy. Life is only once.
I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last.
I like a lot of sports. Especially football – it’s my favourite sport. My uncle played football in Barcelona for nine years and played for Spain in three World Cups.
I started to travel like this at the age of 15 so for me, it’s normal. Some days you get tired and you feel, ‘I want to stay at home a little bit more,’ but it’s only the moment.
Above all, such sports as judo, in my view, teach people to relate to each other. They teach us to respect a partner, teach us to understand that an externally weak partner can not only put up worthy resistance, but, if you relax and take too much for granted, may even win.
Before, I wouldn’t have sacrificed anything for tennis but when I met Barbara it was different. I would have sacrificed tennis for Barbara.
I play each point like my life depends on it.
I spend a little time every day to play sports.
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.
Money plays an important role in football but it is not the dominating factor. When Chelsea play a Carling Cup game in a small city and it could result in a draw – the excitement, the spirit, the atmosphere – that’s the real beauty of football in England.
My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that’s the truth. And my goal is the same – it’s to always be happy playing, it’s to enjoy the game and improve always.
I will do as I usually do. Tomorrow is going to be a day like any other day.
Where do you go when you’re the best in the world? What’s next?
Winning is a way of expressing yourself.
I’m lucky enough to do what I like for work – not everyone’s that fortunate.
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.
More than anything, believe that you can win.
