Rafael Nadal

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.

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.

For sure, with golf it’s not a physically demanding sport like tennis. That’s what makes tennis great – you combine both things. It’s a very mental sport and at the same time can be dramatically physical. But I do admire the mentality of sport more than the physicality because physical performance is much easier to practice than mental performance.

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.

We should try to teach the young people values that are useful to them whether they become professional athletes or not.

Is more for precaution. You don’t know tomorrow what’s happen, no? But now I am happy because I don’t feel too much pain. But I can finish the match, so that’s a good sign.

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

Some people get very confused about my game. They think it’s better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.

The young athletes are supposed to mature, to improve their personality.

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.

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.

Because, to give a goal, the ball must be 100% in and he must be 100% sure that the ball is in.

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.

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.

It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.

I know my serve stinks, but I was a pretty good tennis player.

I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court.

I want to be remembered as a great athlete. As a boxing champion.

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.

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.

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