Rafael Nadal

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

I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court. Being alone in the dark is something I don’t like.

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.

I have the same bedroom I’ve always had. It’s clean and tidy when I get home, and after two or three days it gets messy and my mother nags me.

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

I have no sense of humor about losing

I love basketball.

Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.

I always had the theory that the most important thing is be happy, enjoy what are you doing, and be fresh mentally.

[Roger Federer] We have a guy from Switzerland who is just playing the game in a way I haven’t seen anyone – and I mean anyone – play before. How fortunate we are to be able to see that. If he stays healthy and motivated – and the wonderful feel he has stays with him – he is the kind of guy who can overtake the greatest.

I became a player who goes to a lot of effort while training, who can rely on his will and his mental strengths.

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

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

I just try to win the match by fighting for every point, and running down every ball.

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.

The bad thing about the tennis calendar is how it is made and obligates you to play tournaments all year. If you want to achieve the most you can and go as high up in the rankings as you can, you have to play from the start to the finish because there are important tournaments from the beginning to the end.

I swim almost every day, a thousand meters.

Look at my haircut. I am ready for the war.

I have the same bedroom I’ve always had. It’s clean and tidy when I get home, and after two or three days it gets messy and my mother nags me.

If you don’t lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things.

If you are playing bad you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach.