“We all started under the sun and finished under the lights.”

When I make a commitment I stick to it.

When I make commitments I like to stick to them, especially when I’m giving back to kids. Just giving them an example of what they can achieve. I love giving back to kids. It’s fantastic.

The more matches I play, the more confident I get.

As someone who spends a lot of her time on the road, you have to look stylish but comfortable as I’m always in motion. Either traveling for my job, for pleasure, or managing the hectic pace of the modern day.

I have a Russian heart.

You control your own wins and losses.

There are so many roads you can take that will lead you the wrong way, that nobody will hear your name.

If I’m nervous, it means I had to work hard to get there, whether it’s playing in a tournament or speaking at an event. So I try to stop and be proud of getting to live in that moment.

I have had lots of luck in my career but there has also been a lot of hard work.

Whenever I have friends over, we end up eating and talking and losing track of time, and, once in a while, singing karaoke. It reminds me of the family meals we had in Russia, which always lasted a very long time. That’s a tradition I miss.

I think when you know what you are going to wear, it fits and it’s great material, then you feel confident in it.

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.

I’m focused on going out every day and doing my best.

A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn’t have. I hope my example helps other teens believe they can accomplish things they never thought possible.

You have your bad moments in your career and your good moments. And it’s been a good ride so far, but it’s not over yet.

I hit a ball for a living, but I have that passion to keep learning.

I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.

Everything stinks till it’s finished.

Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you.

I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up.

I don’t care. I’m just gonna smoke. I’m just gonna totally smoke. I’ll finish these, go to the store and get a brand new pack, smoke the shit out of that one.

If I finish a book a week, I will read only a few thousand books in my lifetime, about a tenth of a percent of the contents of the greatest libraries of our time. The trick is to know which books to read.

If I finish a book a week, I will read only a few thousand books in my lifetime, about a tenth of a percent of the contents of the greatest libraries of our time. The trick is to know which books to read.

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.