We lose a lot of young athletes because tennis is such a difficult sport. It's not like kicking a soccer ball.

Fear is an interesting energy that we all have to face. Some people step up and aren't afraid but still come up short. And some would rather cop out: "My shoulder hurts" or "I didn't give it my all." They can sleep at night.

What separates the winners from the losers is that they can deal with doing their best while still coming up short.

Sports for me is when a guy walks off the court, and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way.

The dumber you are on court, the better you're going to play.

There are certainly great cities in America that don't have ATP and WTA events. Our fans are very provincial. They want American champions.

I really try not to read the tennis articles, because a lot of times they're guessing at how a player is feeling, and I like to keep myself kind of open minded about how I'm feeling, rather than have someone else explain to me what's going on.