Rafael Nadal

My parents’ divorce made an important change in my life. It affected me.

I think the tennis is only a game. You can lose. You can win. After that? In life, there are much more important things than tennis.

I always work with a goal – and the goal is to improve as a player and a person. That, finally, is the most important thing of all.

In your career you have a lot of good moments and bad ones. The important thing is to have enough motivation to keep working all the days with humility and trying to be a better player than before. I am going to try to continue doing this.

The favorite is always the No. 1. I can win. Blake can win. But the favorite is the No. 1.

I will work day after day like I did my whole life … I’m not going to change anything.

I am very lucky because when I come back home, I have a completely normal life. I can relax, playing golf, fishing – doing what I want. I know when I finish a tournament, I am going to relax at home.

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 drew my strength from fear. Fear of losing. I don’t remember the games I won, only the games I lost.

I always think about victory. It was very important for me to stay in this final. If I play my best I have a chance (against Federer). I’m going to play aggressively, with determination.

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.

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.

[on Roman Abramovich] We were never friends – José Mourinho

I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last.

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.

In Majorca, I can be myself. I go to the supermarket and the cinema, and I am just Rafa. Everyone knows me, and it is no big deal. I can go all day – no photographs.

The favorite is always the No. 1. I can win. Blake can win. But the favorite is the No. 1.

I like fishing. Not actual fishing – I like the peace and quiet of being at sea. It’s different.

It’s important for the young players to practice other ball games as well, basketball or table tennis. On the tennis court, you can improve your eye through a kind of overexertion.

In the second, I told myself just to hold my serve and try and be aggressive on his serve, and hopefully get a break. I also applied more topspin on my forehand. Once I won the second game after being 0-30 down, my confidence also went up.

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