Rafael Nadal

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

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

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

I’m lucky enough to do what I like for work – not everyone’s that fortunate.

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.

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.

My motivation is tomorrow, just one day at a time, right?

Tennis is a hard sport. There is a lot of competition all year and you play alone.

You fight, you try your best, but if you lose, you dont have to break five racquets and smash up the locker room. You can do those things, but when youve finished, nothings changed. Youve still lost. If something positive came from that, I probably would do it. But I see only negativity.

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

Money plays an important role in football but it is not the dominating factor. When Chelsea play a Carling Cup game in a small city and it could result in a draw – the excitement, the spirit, the atmosphere – that’s the real beauty of football in England.

[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.

The eyes of some of the fans at Davis Cup matches scare me. There’s no light in them. Fixed emotions. Blind worship. Horror. It makes me think of what happened to us long ago.

For me, it is important to win titles and for that I need to work hard, stay healthy and be able to compete. The rest, I always say, it comes.

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

I love the crowds in Miami. I feel that is one of the tournaments where I get more support. That helps me a lot.

Don’t think about being the number one in the world, try instead to get through today’s program as well as you can. Then we will see whether one day you’ll end up as number one or number 100.

I had the pleasure of competing at the Olympic Games and at Wimbledon and was fortunate enough to win the gold medal in both events,

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

Tennis is a psychological sport, you have to keep a clear head. That is why I stopped playing.

Honesty, willingness to exert oneself, friendship – all these things shaped me too.