Losing hurts me.

I always looked ahead.

You pay a price for everything in life.

Losing hurts me. I was determined to be the best.

You're always striving to play that perfect match.

Not every child is cut out for an individual sport.

If you're a champion, you have to have it in your heart.

A champion hates to lose even more than she loves to win.

Don’t let a first-set victory lead into a second-set slump

You can't give up! If you give up, you're like everybody else.

I was very, very shy as a younger girl, just petrified of people.

Tennis helped give me an identity and made me feel like somebody.

Once you've been number one, you can never be satisfied with less.

When I was younger, I was a robot. Wind her up and she plays tennis.

Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift.

I'm not an overly ambitious person; I don't feel like I have to excel.

I still have this image: I can't be controversial, I can't say things.

Every time, all the time, I'm a perfectionist. I feel I should never lose.

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment.

I'm not getting within 20 feet of a married man ever again - not even talking to one!

Cats are peaceful and tranquil - they bring calmness with their serene personalities.

Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far.

I wanted always to appear strong and in control . . . .Then the cookie began to crumble.

Whatever your goal in life, be proud of every day that you are able to work in that direction.

I realized that with hard work, the world was your oyster. You could do anything you wanted to do.

Being famous before you've formed your personality, before you have that self-esteem, is dangerous.

If I win seven tournaments in a row, I get so confident I'm in a cloud. A loss gets me eager again.

I think team sports probably teach you more about giving - about being unselfish and being flexible.

If I win several tournaments in a row, I get so confident I'm in a cloud. A loss gets me eager again.

You've got to take the initiative and play your game. In a decisive set, confidence is the difference.

I was labeled at a young age - Miss Unemotional, Miss Cool, and that would carry over to my press conferences.

I've had a lot of fear in my life, from fear of flying to fear of making a speech in front of a lot of people.

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.

I was very, very shy as a younger girl, just petrified of people. Tennis helped give me an identity and made me feel like somebody.

My first U.S. Open I think was just very special for me because that was sort of the beginning of what was a 'Cinderella' story for me.

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.

I love hiking in the mountains in Aspen. Breathing the clean, fresh air is great. Plus, it gives me a cardiovascular workout and firms my legs.

Find something that you're really interested in doing in your life. Pursue it, set goals, and commit yourself to excellence. Do the best you can.

Relationships are give-and-take, and when you're a tennis player, you're certainly not giving. You have to be self-absorbed. It has to be about you.

There were times when deep down inside I wanted to win so badly I could actually will it to happen. I think most of my career has been based on desire.

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.

Now that I'm losing some, I can see how tough I was -- the killer instinct, the single-mindedness, playing like a machine. Boy, that's what made me a champion.

The difference is almost all mental. The top players just hate to lose. I think that's the difference. A champion hates to lose even more than she loves to win.

After being at the top, I don't think I could play senior tournaments, because you know how good you were. I don't know if I would enjoy that, being half of what I was.

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.

When I play, I'm boiling inside. I just try not to show it because it's a lack of composure, and if you give in to your emotions after one loss, you're liable to have three or four in a row.

The great high of winning Wimbledon lasts for about a week. You go down in the record book, but you don't have anything tangible to hold on to. But having a baby -- there isn't any comparison.

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.

Single-mindedness. I hate to say it because I don't think it's the best thing for developing a person, but the single-mindedness - just concentrating in the one area - that's what it takes to be a champion.

Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far. I won't even call a friend on the day of a match. I'm scared of disrupting my concentration. I don't allow any competition with tennis.

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