I wanted always to appear strong and in control . . . .Then the cookie began to crumble.

To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.

Training the body to obey the mind as I have done differs from the more conventional method of getting the mind to obey the body.

Losses are always a relief. They take a burden off me, make me feel more normal. If I win several tournaments in a row I get so confident I'm in a cloud. If I lose I go back to the dressing room and I'm no better nor worse than anyone else. A loss gets me eager again.

I've had a lot of fear in my life, from fear of flying to fear of making a speech in front of a lot of people.

I was very, very shy as a younger girl, just petrified of people. Tennis helped give me an identity and made me feel like somebody.

I always looked ahead.