When I was younger, I was a robot. Wind her up and she plays tennis.
In tennis, at the end of the day you're a winner or a loser. You know exactly where you stand.... I don't need that anymore. I don't need my happiness, my well-being, to be based on winning and losing.
Of all my achievements in tennis, I'm probably as proud of my record on clay courts as any of my Wimbledon, U.S. Open or French singles titles.
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.
The proper method of playing mixed doubles is to swipe the ball accidentally and straight at the woman opponent as hard and as accurately as possible. Male players must not only retain equanimity on their side of the net, but create dissension on the other.
I don't know whether it's normal or not, but sex has always been something that I take seriously. I would put it higher than tennis on my list of constructive things to do.
If I didn't play tennis I probably would have to see a psychiatrist.
It is not just the more talented player who wins. Some players may try a little harder.
Martina's like the old Green Bay Packers. You know exactly what she's going to do, but there isn't a thing you can do about it.