I always liked serve-and-volley players and big athletes.

I always liked serve-and-volley players and big athletes.

Safin, in his way, is very talented. It is a joy to watch them play; it is tennis of a very high quality.

Roddick can challenge him as well if he serves big consistently for the entire match. If he does that, then he is tough to break even for a guy like Federer.

But, then, Sampras won Wimbledon six times and that automatically puts him among the greatest.

Now that I have retired, and even though I wanted to play more, I can always look back and say that at least I won Wimbledon; also, winning the tournament in Rotterdam in 1995.

I may have exaggerated a bit when I said that 80 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs. What I meant to say was 75 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs.

But Pete had the desire to play at the highest level for so many years. That is very difficult, mentally.

There are a lot of good memories, and because I was injured, during the rehab, I met my wife. The tennis was very good but the injuries were good for something too.

But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game.

Hewitt is such a fighter on the court; he never gives up. They all have qualities to beat him.

I don't think anybody was ever up 6-2 and would lose the tiebreaker.

But the problem with coaching is that it is a full-time job. By that I mean for at least 40 weeks in a year you have to be with the player, either travelling or training. Right now I don't want to do that.

Roddick has good presence on the court and has so much adrenalin.

Federer can be the best ever; he has the potential. The only question is whether he has the desire.

My father's coaching Misha and I just might help from time to time.

But, then again, I had to stop because there was too much pain or too much trouble. After I retired I still had one more elbow surgery just to be able to do normal things.

Maybe, one other match better; but if you look at the tournament as a whole, I played very high quality tennis for seven matches and raised my game when I needed to.

I was serving good but was returning especially well, which was a weakness in my game. So not only was I serving well, but I was also breaking these other guys, and they felt the pressure.

For the first couple of years I played really bad tennis. It was so bad that they booed me off the court.

Contrasting styles is always the most fun to watch.

Guys like John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Stefan Edberg were also very good grass court players.

Athletes as role models and heroes is a hoax, a sick hoax. The men and women who are fighting in Iraq, they are the true heroes.

No one will burn out doing aerobic running. It is too much anaerobic running, which the American scholastic athletic system tends to put young athletes through, that burns them out.

The bottom line is that these athletes tend to be safer investments because they really value their marketing opportunities. They don't make as much money as during their active careers.

For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.

I always liked serve-and-volley players and big athletes.

Several professional athletes have wrongly taught many young Americans by example that the only way to succeed in sports is to take steroids.

There's that initial reticence for some athletes to take you seriously.

It strikes me that these days, clubs don't even want players who can truly play any more; they just want athletes, quick guys who don't have a football brain, can just run and run; some of them, Jesus. I can never imagine acting like that.

One of the perks of being an actor is to get to meet athletes that you respect. Especially who played before my time. Brooks Robinson is one of those athletes; they just don't make them any nicer.

The contracts are structured different than athletes in America, but for me, it was good to move on and go back to playing in the premiere league, which is the best league. It was disappointing, as far as the team goes, but for me, there wasn't much I could do.

I've witnessed thousands of superior athletes try to becomes hitters and fail at it.

The only reason we make good role models is because you guys look up to athletes and we can influence you in positive ways. But the real role models should be your parents and teachers!

We typically don't choose our athletes until about a month prior to the Games because anything can happen.

The night before I compete, I like to have steak. Meat is especially important for female athletes because it provides them with the nutrients they need to perform at their best.

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models.

Too many athletes do not admit their weaknesses.

I was so afraid that the athletes wouldn't talk to me because I'm a woman.

When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we've really and truly arrived. Parity at last!

American professional athletes are bilingual; they speak English and profanity.

I think the athletes respond well to me because I have been successful.

In this culture, where entertainers and athletes wield such power, it seems only right to me that they try to make their influence a good one.

Food fighters in Japan think of themselves as athletes. They have a higher recognition of the game and are constantly thinking about records. I probably won't continue for long because it puts pressure on the body. But I am at the age where I can perform my best.

I want to be like the athletes who seem stuck in time. When you see them at 50, you say they probably can still run like a champ.

Without a doubt, professional boxers are the most exploited athletes in our Nation.

Having a home away from the media glare is important to world-class athletes.

Cameron was able to get an inside look at professional football from the standpoint of athletes and agents and general managers that few people have ever seen.

My guess is many top athletes, distance runners included, use performance-enhancing drugs, enough so that the problem must be tackled.