Playing Surface Quotes

When I play on grass, my body doesn't ache. It can get sore, but it doesn't pulse, and my legs don't ache. When I play on turf, my legs can pulse and ache for up to 24 hours, and it could take 3-5 days to recover, whereas grass, after 24 hours, I'm ready to play again.

When you're out on the touchline, like a winger, it is easier to play. You see everything: the mess, the crowd, the activity is all inside. When you play inside, you don't see anything in there because so much is happening in such a small space and all around you.

It's more a tennis problem than a mental problem. The transition is difficult. It depends how much time you have. Playing on grass can sometimes be a bit of a lottery.

I don't want it to be comfortable for players to step in, stroll about and walk away with three points. But there won't be any old-school flat balls, cold tea or wet floors.

Words are fine, but the most important thing is what happens on the pitch.

In white-ball cricket the conditions do vary, but throughout Tests it varies a lot more in a five-day game, and home advantage becomes more prevalent in Test cricket.

Growing up, I played on matting wickets. I always enjoyed the pace and bounce and somewhere that has a big role or big effect on your game.

I don't care what stadium we play in.

I remember playing at Old Trafford, and the way to the dugout was always nice. It was never like in other stadiums.

A rough should have high grass. When you go bowling they don't give you anything for landing in the gutter, do they?

Artificial pitches are just one more condition for us, like sun, wind or snow; we should be able to deal with such conditions.

The coach put me in goal, and back then, we were playing on bone-hard ground: red ash; we even trained on black ash, which was worse. That's not easy for a goalkeeper. My mother was always taking out her sewing kit for the countless holes in my training pants. For a long time, I had to buy my own gear.

Every wicket you play on is different.

I tend to wear the moulds in training, but I'll always wear studs in games, as I feel like I get more grip.

If you don't have bounce on the pitch, even a spinner cannot come handy.

I was lucky enough to play at Old Trafford, and we always talked about the atmosphere on a Tuesday night, the special atmosphere you create, and the crowd is rocking when you go out for a warm-up.

If you are playing bad you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach.

I have spent much of my youth on artificial pitches. The body can feel a little heavier, but the ball is there quicker and cleaner.

I remember, when I arrived in England, a lot of people said that my style of play was not for England.

Any footballer's dream would be to play for Manchester United and to play at Old Trafford. The pitch just has this iconic feeling about it. It's elevated like it's almost a stage for the players, and I always enjoyed that you can kind of just slip right off the edges. Seeing the little nuances of it, you know, it's just special to be there.

At Wimbledon if it is slightly wet you don't even play the match. At the French Open you need to just get on with it and somehow adjust.

I'm comfortable anywhere, as long as it's on the pitch.

I have no problems with the blue astro-turf. I have got used to it, and I believe that we have got sufficient games to get accustomed to playing on blue turf.

When you are playing the longer version, there are times when you don't have to get bat on ball on a regular basis but maybe a good leave outside the off stump can play its part in you surviving and the time that you would like to spend on the crease.

The problem is not the claycourt. The problem is, you know, rather something to do with the conditions on center court. Because I've played well on Suzanne Lenglen, on the other courts. But the Chatrier court is really, really big, and I just haven't had enough play on it. Maybe I come here next year and play a week on this court, if I can, if the French Federation lets me. We'll see. I've been playing well in other tournaments, in Davis Cup on clay. So for me it's not the surface, it's rather maybe the court.