People always ask about young people like me being forced into things. I play tennis because I love it. I think Russians might be tougher than other people. When I arrived in America I was young, but I already knew what I wanted. I think that when you start from nothing, when you come from nothing, it makes you hungry. I am proud of where I came from and I know what I want. I want to win.

It's always tough when you lose - you've worked so hard for that moment and it hasn't gone the way you wanted. But you have to realise there's always a bright side, you have to pick yourself up and get ready for the next game.

I heard endless conversations between my parents when I was going to sleep about how we would survive, how we would continue. All of them were about trying to make me better.

When I come into a tournament, I'm expecting to win. That's my philosophy. I can't go to a tournament thinking, 'I'm going to get my ass kicked today, so I might as well leave.'

I don't spend a lot of my time in the locker room. That's my least favourite place in the world.

That is what is most special about achieving equality - the positive signal that it will send the world over to the next generation of girls dreaming of winning Wimbledon or becoming a scientist or going to the moon as an astronaut.

I mean, I think I'm doing a lot better than other people that have had shoulder surgery in their careers. Some people have never come back.