Roman Abramovich

I’m realising my dream of owning a top football club. Some will doubt my motives, others will think I’m crazy.

I live on a plane. I like to visit London. If I had to think where I could live if not Moscow, London would be my first choice, and second would be New York. In Moscow I feel most comfortable. I’m used to four different seasons; it’s difficult for people in London to understand. People brought up in Russia like my kids want to play in the snow.

In my personal opinion, Russia is no less democratic than it used to be. It is a democratic country. It is democratic enough.

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.

When I started to make more or less serious money – for those times – then, of course, I wanted to show everyone that life is different: it’s a new kind of life; we are earning this money. We wanted to pay taxes and live honestly.

Our friendship was based on my payouts. That wasn’t a friendship when – as, for example, it’s me, my friends, we are friends for many years, and it doesn’t matter for me what the position is, where they work; we simply are friends. And with Mr. Berezovsky, our friendship was based on my payoffs.

Tennis has to be very careful.Not everyone is a computer, it is very good we have John McEnroe. I hope we have a couple more.

What distinguishes tennis is respect for one’s opponent, one’s conduct on the court.

The US player Andy Roddick reaches speeds of 220 kilometers per hour when he serves. If I train with him every day, I will later be at an advantage against a player whose service crosses the net at 190 kilometers per hour.

I’m not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I’m amongst the best. That’s true. That’s enough for me.

My goal is to improve my game, stay healthy and be competitive. If I have that, I know I can be able to win tournaments, which in the end is what it counts.

I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court.

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.

If I am not playing at one hundred percent, it is going to be very difficult for me to win.

I didn’t play a great match, but once I pass the first two rounds, things get easier. I’m used to the court and the conditions.

We’ll try and be very aggressive, we’ll try and speed up and change gears, and we’ll see who’s going to win.

Playing well or playing bad, I have to play aggressive. I must play aggressive.

It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.

When one player is better than you, at this moment, the only thing you can do is work, try to find solutions and try to wait a little bit for your time. I’m going to wait and I’m going to try a sixth time. And if the sixth doesn’t happen, a seventh. It’s going to be like this. That’s the spirit of sport.

Certainly I would like to have some of the qualities of other players and obviously from Roger Federer. But believe me, there are plenty of other abilities that are important, particularly mindset and strength.

[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.