Tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love - the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.

The great part about tennis is you can't run out the clock.... As long as we were still playing, I had a chance.

It has meant a lot to me to challenge the best players in the world and to beat them. And it means a lot to me to be out here and fighting for the title and, you know, it hurts not to win it.

Hitting the ball has never been my issue, so I can literally not pick up a racquet for two months and hit the ball, really, really nicely. I mean movement's always an issue.

Being number two sucks.

Every now and then I will play; I try to focus on charitable work. I might do it because it's an offer I can't refuse, so I rally and try to stay in shape and keep myself active.

If you're ranked number one in the world it's because you've earned it, and I think the only way to really get there is to have that ability and to have it nurtured in a very competitive environment at an early age.