Rafael Nadal

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

Anyone could become a star, but everyone must be a human being.

I love the beach. I love the sea. All my life I live within – in front of the sea.

I have been learning English on the road since I started when I was 15, so it is a slow process but making some progress. Now I think I am much more comfortable with my English. However, it is difficult, still, when I speak about something that is not tennis.

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

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.

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

Some people may learn something from the way I play tennis. But there are also players who are better than me in certain techniques.

For me, pressure is bird flu. I’m feeling a lot of pressure with the problem in Scotland. It’s not fun and I’m more scared of it than football.

If the plane moves, some turbulence, I am nervous flyer.

That’s the hard part about sport: as men we haven’t started to be in our prime, but as athletes we are old people. I needed support. I lost trust and did stupid things.

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.

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

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

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.

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

It is the small steps which bring you satisfaction at the end of the day.

I’m really, really emotional.

I am No. 8 in the world. I am not No. 100.

I take pleasure in tennis and the hope that it requires.

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