Vladimir Putin

Few people understand the magnitude of the catastrophe that happened late in the 1980s when the Communist Party had failed to modernize the Soviet Union.

Our soldiers are there (in Syria) in order to secure Russia’s interests in this critically important part of the world, which is so near to us. And they will stay there, for as long as it is in Russia’s interest for them to do so.

I think the American people should express their preferences, and we’ll accept their choice.

[on Trump] We can objectively see quite serious achievements even during his short time in office.

Based on our preliminary calculations, we may in the next six years spend 17 trillion roubles (Putin said billion, but meant trillion), but to achieve the goals that we have discussed, we will need an additional 8 trillion roubles. And it is clear where we are going to find them.

Between major countries, there certainly always are some common ground and points of tension.

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.

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’m ambidextrous when I eat. But playing tennis right-handed – I can’t do it. I’m clueless.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans and what I did, the sign of silence – ‘shut your mouth’ – was not for them, it was for the English press.

[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.

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game – and do it by watching some high school or small-town teams.

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

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.

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

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.