Rafael Nadal

I started to travel like this at the age of 15 so for me, it’s normal. Some days you get tired and you feel, ‘I want to stay at home a little bit more,’ but it’s only the moment.

Today people hit the ball with much more strength. Almost every player is capable of playing a winning stroke from any position. This means the balls arrive more quickly. If you want to reach them, you have to slow down from a high speed or suddenly change direction. These are moments when you can injure yourself, and that’s what wears us out.

I play each point like my life depends on it.

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

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

It’s not the time to look for excuses.

Where do you go when you’re the best in the world? What’s next?

It is important to recognize the small successes.

I’ve stayed calm when I’m winning and I’ve stayed calm when I’ve lost. Tennis is a sport where we have a lot of tournaments every week, so you can’t celebrate a lot when you have big victories, and you cannot get too down when you’re losing, as in a few days you’ll be in the next tournament and you’ll have to be ready with that.

Our strategy [at Chelsea] is to bring up our own players through the academy, which we have invested a lot in, and hope it gives results.

I tried to find a solution to the problem that I had, tried to find a way to start playing better.

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

If the girls and boys have talent and feel like working on themselves, they can become champions.

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

I play each point like my life depends on it.

I will do as I usually do. Tomorrow is going to be a day like any other day.

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.

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

If somebody says I am better than Roger, I think this person doesn’t know anything about tennis.

I always like to do the things that I think are right. I am not trying to be a model, I am trying to be myself and do the right things. If what I am doing is a model, or is an example, is the right example, I am very happy, but I don’t pretend that.

Its silly to say it about a tennis player, but Im an unbelievable hero in Germany. And Germany needs heroes more than any place.