Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
But, I would say when I was four years old and I was at the Alan King Tennis Tournament and I was hitting with all the pros that would come to town. They would get me on the court or take notice and that stayed with me.
When I started to do quite well on the tour I thought I'd treat myself to a bright red Ferrari. I had always had a soft spot for them as a car brand and, when I was in the position to afford one, I decided to go for it.
I know I could never forgive myself if I elected to live without humane purpose, without trying to help the poor and unfortunate, without recognizing that perhaps the purest joy in life comes with trying to help others.
My dad taught me how to play tennis, and I owe that to him. But the better you get, the higher you climb, and the more lonely you get. I've had to sacrifice a lot of personal relationships, but that's the choice I made.
More than specific memories of achievements, for me I remember the feeling you get when you were just at your very best - when you felt like you were floating across the court and could put the ball wherever you wanted.
I could never have gotten back into my career without the undying support of my husband, who works full time at a stressful job! We decided that we were going to do this as total partners and it is a 50/50 deal with us.
In the last year I have gained a lot of experience because I have been playing against top players and realized what things to work on to get better. Top players basically tell you what your weaknesses are on the court.
My workouts include aerobic exercise for a healthy cardiovascular system; strength training to maintain muscle tone and bone density; core strength exercise for a stable mid-section; and stretching to maintain mobility.
As a tennis player, you have to get used to losing every week. Unless you win the tournament, you always go home as a loser. But you have to take the positive out of a defeat and go back to work. Improve to fail better.
Grand Slam losses are hard. I treat myself after losses though, I usually go to McDonald's and I have a hamburger and you know, something. Because you know, you just need to be nice to yourself sometimes after the loss.
I did not support any more New York. I lived 10 years there, and after September 11, I felt very European. I did not share the opinion of people in the street, who were deeply influenced by what they heard in the media.
Remember this. Hold on to this. This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others. This is the only thing we can do that has any lasting meaning. This is why we're here. To make each other feel safe.
Sitting there clapping and smiling... it's difficult. You're like, 'Don't worry about it, you just double faulted, you just played a really dumb point. Keep positive.' Then more clapping. That would annoy me as a player.
Well, he can't be dumb, I mean, because he's been president for four years and he's president again, so you're going to get caught out if you're really bad, aren't you? Unless millions and millions of Americans are dumb.
My worst memory is of my first dance lesson as a 14-year old in Prague. My mother put me in this silver and pink lame dress. My hair was all curled, and it was the first time I wore a garter belt. I felt so out of place!
Maybe sometimes I'm such a thinker, I reevaluate too much. Sometimes when it comes down to it, I really don't need to do anything, I don't really need to change anything. I need to just keep plugging away, working at it.
It is no longer enough to play very well. You need to be able to give an answer at all times and everywhere. You cannot hide. This has something to do with maturity, and that is something you only acquire over the years.
I think I want to show fans what it is actually like to be an athlete. Tennis is a part of it, but there is also another job that people are not aware of, the media commitments we have, and I want them to understand this.
I used to take pride if my kids were playing basketball, and I'd be there, and I wouldn't say anything. People were obviously expecting me to yell and scream at the ref and at them and everything. I wouldn't say anything.
I'm not to eager to play tennis in my spare time. I'm more interested in doing gym work and stuff like that. We have a lot of schools and courts around where I live, so if I really want to play I don't need to go too far.
If a man can coach a female, why can't a female coach a male? When I was looking for a coach, the gender of the coach never occurred to me. It was about who I thought was good and who I could get along with and listen to.
My nutritionist has done a great job in changing my diet after we established I am allergic to things like gluten - I can't eat pizza, pasta and bread. I have lost some weight, but my movement is sharper and I feel great.
I became president of the players' association and was willing to have conversations with influential people about equal prize money or how the tour could be promoted and structured in a way to make women's tennis better.
When I was 13, tennis became more of my life. It's when I gave up skiing, I gave up winter sports. I still played varsity basketball my freshman year of high school - basketball was the last sport I gave up for my tennis.
When a lot of things are going the wrong way for a country, for a people, when you can't really think of anything worse than a war, you always try to take life on the brighter side and that's how I grew up with my parents.
When I started to play, all the coaches said it didn't make sense for me to try to play tennis because I was too small. They said I would never make it. But this was something that motivated me. I really wanted to make it.
Just look at Andy Roddick. He has the biggest serve on the men's tour and he's not the No. 1 because other parts of his game are not so good. I think it's more important to have the desire and the other parts of your game.
A lot of times when I'm confident and relaxed on the court, I'm going to be a pretty tough out. But when I'm not so confident and not so relaxed, I tense up and my balls fall short and everything. It just sort of unravels.
I'm not to eager to play tennis in my spare time. I'm more interested in doing gym work and stuff like that. We have a lot of schools and courts around where I live, so if I really want to play, I don't need to go too far.
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.
As you grow older, it's harder to stay fit. Every day you wake up with pain, muscle aches which you don't know you had. I have to work harder on me than I used to when I was 18 years old. It takes me longer to recover now.
Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far. I won't even call a friend on the day of a match. I'm scared of disrupting my concentration. I don't allow any competition with tennis.
Even the greatest player of all times loses sets or is down in a match. It just shows that, you know, a win is never guaranteed. It shows all of us that we have to work for every point, fight for every point no matter what.
Neither winning nor losing means as much to me as knowing the crowd has enjoyed my match. Some players feel that winning is everything and that losing is a disaster. Not me. I want the spectators to take home a good memory.
It's better to have done because then you know what the player is going through and you understand the pressure, but then on the other hand I know a lot of people that were good players but not good coaches, and vice versa.
You can't really hit on grass. There are lots of bad bounces, so when the guy plays deep into the spot where the grass has been worn down and he doesn't leave you the time to play, you don't have time to play fast yourself.
Grand Slams are different. If you can get through a few matches, the draw opens up and you get confident. You just need a little bit of luck early, you get through those opening matches and you never know what could happen.
Roger [Federer], he brought tennis... one level higher. Normally he toys with everybody. With all respect to other players, he does whatever he wants on the court against them. It's incredible what kind of game he can play.
Tennis has never been the most important thing in my life. My family, my health, my happiness...they are more important to me. On court, I want to win. Off court, I want to be a better person. Tennis is a path to my future.
I have to live for the day, and not worry about or try to know what tomorrow brings.... if I've learned one thing from all that'shappened to me, it's that if you would know what tomorrow brings, you may not want to live it.
Even though now I'm pretty popular in my country and tennis is the No. 1 sport, and I'm very flattered that the people recognise me and come up and give me compliments, I'm more a person who likes to have privacy and peace.
Win 10 times in an important event like Monte-Carlo is something difficult to describe the feeling. Every year have been a different feeling. At the same time is always a unique moment every time I have this trophy with me.
I wouldn't say I'm a spender in the sense that I'm going out on huge spending sprees. However, to be able to function at the top of your game on the professional tennis circuit often requires an element of frequent spending.
Shut the world out, withdraw from all worldly thoughts and occupations, and shut yourself in alone with God, to pray to Him in secret. Let this be your chief object in prayer, to realize the presence of your heavenly Father.
I had a very detailed retirement plan, and I feel like I've met every aspect of it: a lot of golf, a lot of carbs, a lot of fried food, and some booze, occasionally - I've been completely committed... The results have shown.
Fear is an interesting energy that we all have to face. Some people step up and aren't afraid but still come up short. And some would rather cop out: "My shoulder hurts" or "I didn't give it my all." They can sleep at night.
People don't seem to understand that it's a damn war out there. Maybe my methods aren't socially acceptable to some, but it's what I have to do to survive. I don't go out there to love my enemy. I go out there to squash him.
I have a coach and I have a chiropractor, who works to keep me healthy. I pay their salaries. I pay for their flights as we travel around the world on a weekly basis, and I pay for their hotels and meals while we're on tour.
I spent a whole year when I was injured just trying to get my arm back to the point where I could hit a tennis ball for more than 30 minutes a day. I'd hit for 15 minutes and it would feel as if my arm was going to fall off.
I'm a happy man, because I am successful in what I do, of course; but what makes me most happy is I have people around me that I love and who love me back. This, for me, is the most important thing. Nobody likes to be alone.