“I’m an actor who plays an intriguing character, not a political pundit.”

You never know how long Federer is going to play, but in my opinion he has at least one or two more grand slams to win. It depends how long he stays motivated. For me, he is the greatest player to ever play the game.

Tennis is a traditional game. A big sport like tennis does not need too many changes. The game has become too fast, there are hardly any long, interesting rallies these days. So maybe slowing down the courts could help. But you can’t really stop a sport from evolving.

My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories.

My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match.

I had a great tennis career. I have no regrets. But to find peace with yourself, and to finally be with your family – I’m probably the happiest guy in the world.

If you’re a good experienced player, you wknow what it takes to do. If you’re in trouble, you know how to change.

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.

I just hated to lose.

On Rafael Nadal: Every point he plays is like match point. That’s why he’s the champion right now.

Sure you have feelings and you get emotional and angry but I kept everything inside because I think I still had that thought in my mind – I didn’t want to get suspended again

You have to come back strong. But to win the last point in a grand slam tournament, that’s the most beautiful and most satisfying feeling you can get as a tennis player. It’s worth it.

If you’re afraid of losing, then you daren’t win.

Basically I started playing double handed on both my forehand and backhand side because my first racket was very heavy.

Our media and political system has turned into a mutual protection racket.

So, in some ways, the political songs tend to be a bit more like reportage, whereas the love songs tend to be like novels, you can pick them up off the shelf and go into them any time.

If I am a great man, then all great men are frauds.

We also have to engage – and I think this is important – in national politics because there is no way to address questions of this scale in the short time that we have to address them without engaging in real political change.

In every song I write, whether it’s a love song or a political song or a song about family, the one thing that I find is feeling lost and trying to find your way.

When these political action committees give money, they expect something in return other than good government.

Part of the problem with some elements of the European debate is that they hanker for the days when we were a great power. Those days are gone, and they went a long time ago.

The way to stop political correctness is to not do it. If someone says, You offended me then you say I don’t care! If they’re offended by the truth, that’s their issue!