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People wrote me off, but I believed in myself. I got the confidence back, and it grew and grew. I won my first major and my last at the place that changed my life.
I've worked hard my whole life, since I was a little kid. But now it's a point in my life now where I can just enjoy it, but at the same time I still need to work.
There are a lot of good memories, and because I was injured, during the rehab, I met my wife. The tennis was very good but the injuries were good for something too
I may have exaggerated a bit when I said that 80 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs. What I meant to say was 75 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs.
Watching a movie a couple of weeks ago. An American movie. I can't remember the name, but it wasn't even a sad movie. It caught me off guard. I was on an airplane.
I think Serena Williams is the best tennis player of this generation, if not the best ever. It is amazing for her to be playing as well as she is at the age of 31.
When I first started really playing, in '98, I was super excited to see all the people I grew up watching. ... I loved Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, and Pete Sampras.
My mom's chicken, with rice and gravy was my favorite dish as a kid, and it still is now. That's my favorite meal from her or from anybody. It's a family favorite.
It made me hungry. I feel like I'm in a program that really helped me individually as a player. I feel like I'm with a group of guys that are like my best friends.
Well, I guess I needed this tough first round to really put me into that tournament, to really erase what happened at Indian Wells, which is now the case, you know.
It is very hard to be a female leader. While it is assumed that any man, no matter how tough, has a soft side... and female leader is assumed to be one-dimensional.
It's a great moment for Argentinean tennis, more on the men's side. I would like to see more on the women's side. I think we have to work a little bit more on that.
I think the best match I played was against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2011, especially because I won this match after being two sets down.
What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.
It's been interesting. I went through a period where a lot of people would recognize me, and then when I had injures and my ranking dropped, not as many people did.
The point is to win the biggest tournaments and beat the biggest guys head to head. Then, if the computer ranking works out that you are No 1 in the world so be it.
As you know, I was one of the original grunters. But Jimmy Connors used to grunt way before I was born. I never knew I was grunting, it was just part of my strokes.
I broke all my rackets. I didn't have a racket for the fifth set. I broke four. Now I hold the record. Now I go home. No rackets. I really don't like these rackets.
It would be great to give back to this city and its youth brigade important lessons that will help them become future champions. I look forward to this opportunity.
The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.
Winning is about taking your opponent's heart out and squeezing it until all the blood has come out, even the very last drop. There are no prizes for a funny loser.
Maybe, one other match better; but if you look at the tournament as a whole, I played very high quality tennis for seven matches and raised my game when I needed to
There are a lot of good memories, and because I was injured, during the rehab, I met my wife. The tennis was very good but the injuries were good for something too.
If you go to a big city anywhere in the world and you need a doctor, just ask me. I can tell you who's good and who's bad. I've even considered writing a guidebook.
The players that always used to frighten me were the big servers so someone like John Isner if he gets on a roll with his serve, can be a nightmare to play against.
My mind started wandering. I started playing carefully, instead of playing the way that had gotten me to that point. I had to force myself to keep driving the ball.
I was missing out on a lot of things that my friends were doing, but in another way, they were missing things I was doing. It was kind of a trade-off I had to make.
Some people just look at opportunities and say, 'Maybe something better might come along; let's wait and see.' But you don't wait. You just grab it and go after it.
I'm like the most expensive, exotic item on a gourmet menu. People can wonder about the sensuous delights of the dish, but they can't afford such an expensive luxury
You know growing up in Sweden meant we had a lot of rain when we played tennis. We were taught on clay courts but because of the weather, we had to go indoors a lot.
Sometimes the ATP puts a lot of pressure on the players and sometimes you get injured because you play on a dangerous surface. Nothing happens, no one pays for that.
I guess I had that insecurity of missing out on the normal things that everybody else does. With all the traveling I was doing I felt I was leaving something behind.
It's always something special with me. You never know how and what I can do on the court. I think that's why the people like that, a little bit a mystery part of me.
A lot of players have had it worse than me. Look at a guy like Andy Roddick, incredible Hall of Fame player, but he ran up against Roger so many times in big finals.
When I was 15 and playing in Kalamazoo, I ran into a light pole on the side of the court and was knocked out for a little while - when I woke up, I was seeing stars!
I don't have to follow any special diet or count calories. I try to eat healthily and before a match I load up on pasta and salads. But I pretty much do what I want.
Once you start believing in yourself, anything is possible. Once you start believing in yourself, your dreams take shape. The more you believe, the more you achieve.
Svitolina moves a little bit better than Ostapenko but Ostapenko goes for it a little earlier in the rallies. The way she plays she can take you out of the equation.
I like a lot of sports. Especially football - it's my favourite sport. My uncle played football in Barcelona for nine years and played for Spain in three World Cups.
Even if I have already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the illusion that I'm going to get better that day.
In Majorca, I can be myself. I go to the supermarket and the cinema, and I am just Rafa. Everyone knows me, and it is no big deal. I can go all day - no photographs.
The family is very important. They make me feel good always because if I won, when I started to be famous, the relationship never changed with my friends and family.
Maybe, one other match better; but if you look at the tournament as a whole, I played very high quality tennis for seven matches and raised my game when I needed to.
Camaraderie builds. We travelled together to Rome, Paris, Wimbledon, the U.S., lots of places. In a way, I miss it right now. My opponents were also my best friends.
When Hoad and Rosewall were at their best, and I was a youngster, they had no qualms about saying, 'Hey kid, let's go and play.' That helped me to get up the ladder.
I've been writing, but I haven't been writing. In my mind I've been saying I want to write, but I haven't actually physically picked up a pencil and started writing.
I want it to be more natural. Right now it feels really forced. Seems like I've never done a curtsy before, which may be true. But I'm looking forward to nailing it.
Doubt can be good because it means you want to improve: you want to be a better person, a better player. But it's also good not to have too many doubts on the court.
The first years when I came to New York, everything was too big and too much. For me, it was too difficult here, but bit by bit, it became one of my favorite places.
If I am in Moscow for example and one night I decide to go out to my friend's house why should I come back at eight o'clock in the morning to my house to be checked?