Quotes About Focus

People all the time try to take my outside interests and make them a negative. My life has always been like that and it always will be like that. I don't think it necessarily means that while I'm concentrating on tennis I can't put 100% into it. If I didn't have 100 different interests, I probably wouldn't be as good a player.

I have always believed that my job is to try and give my best on the tennis courts.

When my heart rate is so high, I seem to be able to play even better, without making bad decisions. It almost switches the mind off, so that I can play more instinctive tennis.

There is no shortcuts. Play your best tennis, give your heart out, and anything can happen.

I only ever run when there's some point to it - say, if it's in a game of tennis.

I have always been very dedicated to tennis, and it's true that I made some compromises in my life. For example, I never went out to parties when I was younger, and I spent less time with friends.

I'm the Bjorn Boerg of table tennis.

Even though there are a lot of bright tennis players out there, you still have to protect yourself and save all your mental and emotional energies for tennis.

That's what I love about tennis: As an individual sport, you can't hide behind teammates.

It's important to understand that you have to dedicate time to your sponsors, to have relationships with the people and the media, but it is also hard when you are first coming up and your primary focus is on tennis.

Tennis is an individual sport, and I am quite a self-conscious person.

After almost 30 years of playing this sport, I've learned something. I've learned that, no matter what happens, or happened... or where you are, or where you've been... at the end of the day: tennis is tennis. It's always, always tennis. And there's nothing better.

Anybody who can dial a telephone can master tennis scoring in about 15 minutes.

Tennis taught me what happens when you really work on something, and what happens when you don't.

When I'm relaxed, I play my best tennis.

When I think about it, the happiest and most successful people I know don't just love what they do, they're obsessed with solving something that matters to them. They remind me of a dog chasing a tennis ball: Their eyes go a little crazy, the leash snaps and they go bounding off, plowing through whatever gets in the way.

I think more of my tennis is more to do with the mental side of things rather than technique or, you know, tactics or anything like that.

The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match.

Now I do bowling, golf, and tennis. I want to be a good bowler.

When I'm doing sports, I always think of how it's related to singing, and when I watch tennis, I learn a lot for my singing: how the players are focused, how they use their technique, and, in the case of Roger Federer, how effortless it is and how beautiful it is to watch - like bel canto, in a way. That's how singing should be.

As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don't find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore.

I'd like to imagine that in order to beat me a person would have to play almost perfect tennis.

I'm really trying to focus myself on playing tennis, and I think that's really important.

Since a month, two months ago, you know, I've started hitting the ball well. I'm playing some really good tennis. That really helps. I sort of have to motivate myself to get pumped up. It really helps my game a lot.