Rafael Nadal

I am lucky because my family are comfortably off. My father has his own glass business.

I still take advice from my mum on what clothes look good on me. I used to listen to her a lot more, but I’ve started to choose my own things from time to time.

If I am not playing at one hundred percent, it is going to be very difficult for me to win.

I am afraid of a lot of things. A dog. I could be afraid of a dog that’s upset, for example. And on the tennis courts, maybe on the outside I look fearless, but on the inside, I’m scared. There’s not one player in the world who isn’t nervous before matches. Especially important matches.

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

I have no sense of humor about losing

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

Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to do sports for a living. In the beginning, I played a lot of soccer, but in the end I chose tennis. I love sports in general … But tennis is my passion.

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

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

The only thing I had on my mind was tennis, and sometimes girls,… My life was all about tennis. My office was the whole world. The word home didn’t really exist.

I am happy with being a tennis player and the choice I took when I was 12. But clearly, if I wouldnt have been a tennis player, I would have loved to be a soccer player. But again, I am happy with the choice I made.

Every little kid that steps on the court or the field has aspirations to go pro. I think being a pro basketball player is the best job. The thing I had to realize was that I can’t do every dream that I have.

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’d rather lose an argument than get into a long discussion in order to win it.

I am a guy who likes to do what I am doing with passion, whether it’s a soccer match with friends or golf.

Winning is a way of expressing yourself.

You learn their honesty, you learn their competitiveness. You learn a lot about a person. It’s not that they have to sink the putt and there’s a great deal of talent involved – but you do learn about how competitive a person is on the golf course, and frankly, how honest.

I swim almost every day, a thousand meters.

The only way of finding a solution is to fight back, to move, to run, and to control that pressure.

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