Vladimir Putin

Russia and China are very natural partners. We are neighbors with an immense common border.

I would prefer to abandon the terminology of the past. ‘Superpower’ is something which we used during the cold war time. Why use it now?

Did you suffer? Terribly. In fact, it tore my life apart. Up until that time I didn’t really understand the transformation that was going on in Russia. When I had come home from the GDR, it was clear to me that something was happening. But during the days of the coup, all the ideals, all the goals that I had had when I went to work for the

A happy love needs to be reciprocated.

Terrorists are always a threat to someone. If we’ll be scared of them, it means they have won.

The unjustified swelling of the budgetary deficit and the accumulation of public debts are just as destructive as adventurous stock-jobbing.

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.

I’d rather lose an argument than get into a long discussion in order to win it.

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 serve can get better, for sure. It’s not just about serving bombs, but positioning, variation in speed, in spin.

The thing, when you’re down two sets to love, is to stay calm, even though it’s hard, because people are freaking out, people are worried for you.

Some people get very confused about my game. They think it’s better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.

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

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

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

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

Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to do sports for a living. In the beginning, I played a lot of soccer, but in the end I chose tennis. I love sports in general … But tennis is my passion.

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

As a tennis player you can win and you can lose, and you have to be ready for both. I practised self-control as a kid. But as you get older they both – winning and losing – get easier.

I am thrilled to be the new team captain. I am sure that the pressures I’ve faced on centre court will stand me in good stead to battle it out against Ian and his team.

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.