“I’m proud to be a symbol like the army knife or the mountains.”

You can be stubborn and successful or you can give it up a bit and change things around. For me it’s important to have a bit of both.

I’m not the kind of guy who wakes up angry.

I am a sucker for those old traditional places, and Rome is as good as it gets, particularly when you throw in Italian food.

My game is a lot about footwork. If I move well, I play well.

My family is the thing I miss most on the tour.

I always knew I had something special.

Confidence? Are you kidding me? I mean, please. Look, some players grow up and play like that. I remember losing junior matches. Just being down 5-2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots.

It is always in my mind still that I can crush anybody. That’s not an issue. But I think that is the same for most athletes. If you don’t believe you can win tournaments anymore, then you can’t do it.

You always want to win. That is why you play tennis, because you love the sport and try to be the best you can at it.

I always had the dream that, once I became No 1 in the world, that if I had a child I hoped I would have it early enough so the child can see me playing.

I have a very strong opinion. I’m absolutely against it. I’m against the challenge system. I’m for the way it is right now. Don’t change that.

I have learnt to be even more patient.

I am thinking more and more about what I want to and can do after my days as an active athlete. Thoughts like family and marriage also cross my mind more and more often.

One or two years ago, I didn’t know who I was on court and I used to swear a lot. But now I’ve learned how to cope and can therefore win 10 matches in a row. I want to be remembered as a good player rather than an idiot on court.

I’m playing great tennis. I’m enjoying the tour, having fun with the fans off the court. I’m loving it now.

The nicer the point, the more — the better I feel, the more excited I get. But I never play that my opponent looks stupid. I think that is wrong. I have too much respect for every opponent I play.

Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.

Every man’s last day is fixed. Lifetimes are brief, and not to be regained, for all mankind. But by their deeds to make their fame last: that is labor for the brave.

Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.

Fame and fortune, how empty they can be.