I'm a massive Roger Federer fan, and sometimes I can see in his game the willful development of a tactic or technique that doesn't come as naturally to him, like fixating on improving the backhand. And I'm thinking, Hit the forehand! It's what you do!
There are some guys you have problems beating because of their style - I always had difficulties with guys like Michael Chang and Andre Agassi because their returns were so good and they played so well in defence.
Some people get very confused about my game. They think it's better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.
I think when you can beat Novak Djokovic in the final of a Masters tournament, you are going to be OK.
Players who win on a clay surface are those who can control the ball, playing steadily and accurately from the back-court, keeping the ball in play and moving it around with changes of speed and spin, and resisting the temptation to over-hit.
In key times I performed well against Rafael Nadal regardless of the surface. The fact is you need to hold on as long as possible. You need to be strong in key times. And when there's the slightest opportunity, you need to seize it because he's one of the best players when things get tough.
I think my biggest thing is learning when to hit which serve when, not doing the exact same thing over and over. Because O.K., great, it's 120 miles per hour, but they're standing right there, and they just block it back.
Ivan Lendl was the best player I ever played. He was the first guy to bring the game to more of a power level and you could know that if he played really well you could get blown off court and that wouldn't happen against John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors or even Bjorn Borg or Guillermo Vilas.
Senior tennis is like the younger game in slow motion. It is much more of a backcourt game. The player who had a big game in his prime finds it harder to play that same game as a senior. But any senior who could lob well when he was young can still hit a good lob.
But I still serve pretty big and that's one of my biggest weapons, so if my shoulder holds up and I can count on it, I can win a few matches and then you never know how the other guys are going to react to the fatigue and the length of the matches.
My uncle developed the training philosophy. His idea of good tennis training is basically quite simple: you must try to gain time.
I think my serve and trying to come forward a little more are what I need to work on.
The point in tennis is to take the ball as early as possible and take time away from your opponent.
Well, I like to - the game of serve and volley, but it's very tough, you know, against the best players because they return so good and their passing shots are really good. So it's really tough to get there with those players.
Lleyton Hewitt... his two greatest strengths are his legs, his speed, his agility and his competitiveness.
I am going to hold serve the majority of the time. It is nice to have a little time to return serve.
I try not to hit a swing volley and run back. So my swing volley is kind of that transition to the net. It's been one of my favorite shots ever since I was young.
Mary Joe Fernandez rarely has a bad loss. She never tries for stupid shots.
I always liked serve-and-volley players and big athletes.
I mean, every single time I was there with Mahesh, I just tried to learn something of his game, because he's, you know, one of the best doubles players that's been around ever.
I was always a believer in stamping on my opponent if I got him down, at Wimbledon or anywhere else. I never wanted to give him the chance to get up.
I think Roger Rasheed is helping me to be more serious. Also, he can convey his passion for tennis. He loves the game. Also he's enthusiastic about everything, about tactics, about what is happening on the court, and also physically he's really pushing me. He wants me to do my best every day.
Most important thing, I am not a player who win the serves because I serve aces or free points, no. When I winning a lot of serves is because I am playing well from the baseline. That's why.
It occurred to me that it would benefit me to play without emotion - well, without emotion others could see, anyway. Card players profited from having a poker face so opponents wouldn't know how good or bad their hand was, and I figured a deadpan expression would work in tennis, too.
Even when my opponent hits a very good shot, I don't just want to get it back. I want to get it back so they have difficulty. And then I can control the point.
