Quotes from Ivan Lendl

My serve and my forehand I pretty much always had, but my backhand was a made backhand. I worked on it for years.

Tennis is basically a game where you try to create an opportunity for yourself to finish the point, because you can't wait for the opponent to miss anymore. Well, if you create an opportunity and don't take advantage of it, you let the opponent back to even, then you are just starting the point over, so you have to take advantage of them.

People may say I developed an iron will, but what really happened is that I made myself much fitter. I think an iron will is always supported by fitness.

If you lose, it hurts, but as long as you have fought hard, you can still feel good about yourself.

I have seriously thought about retiring, but that was on a good day. On a bad day I've thought about killing myself.

I like to compete.

I just travel all the time. And I was just looking at the schedules now and starting the first week of October I will be every weekend with somebody at tournaments through Christmas. So it gets very difficult to just go away and not do that.

I think if you look at Andre then and now, you look at two different models. Of course it's personal preference, I think Andre now is a great role model for the kids. He has started training differently than he was before, and so on and so on.

But it's very difficult, I can tell you I played the Czech Open a few times and it's very difficult just to go on to a scene where the course is prepared differently when the greens are fast and he's not used to it and they're hard as a rock and he's not used to it.

If I don't practice the way I should, then I won't play the way that I know I can.

If you go to school and practice for five days a week, it still gives you two days you can go and see your friends, you can go to the movies, you do whatever you like to do.

I was between 2 and 3 in the world for two, three years. That's not exactly where I wanted to be.

I believe the brain is like a muscle - like any other it can be improved.

I got bad calls every match, and I never got an apology. So I thought it was rather strange.

Tennis is not like other sports where the coach is hired by an independent entity, and that makes a huge difference in the dynamic.

Don't mistake activity for achievement - practice the right way. - John Wooden I only play well when I'm prepared. If I don't practice the way I should, then I won't play the way that I know I can.

If you look at any superior athlete, you will find a strong parental influence. Parents introduce their children to a sport, and then they support them.

Many times the players get in there and it's just about as well as they could have done, and other times they get in there and they favorites and they don't win.

Many tennis coaches are enablers. They need the job more than the player needs the coach, and if the coach needs the job more than the player needs the coach, he can't effect change.

I certainly don't lose any sleep if I lose a tennis match.

I don't make a habit of watching tennis matches, but I try to watch all the major finals. I try to make time for that. So unless I have something going with the kids where I can't, I try to watch, and I enjoy that.

In tennis you move a lot. Golf you don't. In tennis, you can have a bad half-hour, but you can't in golf. You can lose the first set in tennis and still win.

Not winning at Wimbledon is not going to bother me forever.

Many Czech people are very talented. They can do many things, but when they get to a certain level, they are satisfied. I am not like that, thank God.