Tennis Quotes

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Mats Wilander Quotes



Mats Wilander
( Photo credit: Art Seitz ©2010 )



March 5, 2011: "I would eliminate and prohibit clapping shots for your opponent. Tennis is not about the shot making; it's about the mental battle. It needs to be more warrior-like to me."
— Mats Wilander, whose mental strength helped him capture seven Grand Slam titles in the 1980s, when Tennis magazine asked: "If you could change one thing about the pro game, what would it be?"

April 7, 2010: "Not getting injured or tired is part of playing tennis. Everyone can close their eyes and hit tennis balls as hard as they can, and if it goes in, great. Are you playing to win tournaments or are you playing to hit great shots? That’s the difference between winning Slams and not. Nadal realizes he can’t continue to play that style. Federer knows he can’t grind these matches for five hours hitting 25 shots a rally so he doesn’t. He picks the right tactics for how much he has left in the tank. Federer has figured it out. Andy Murray is getting there. Djokovic apparently hasn’t."
— Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, on why he favors best-of-five-set matches at the four majors, in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"All my career I dreamed of being No. 1. But when I finally achieved it [in 1988] and the initial excitement wore off, I felt nothing. I had no sense of elation or pride. I was world champion but so what? It got to the stage where I got more satisfaction out of cutting the grass than playing tennis."

— Mats Wilander, disillusioned.

"You can't be considered a great player unless you win Wimbledon. That's the way it is."

— Mats Wilander, who won seven Grand Slam titles but never Wimbledon.

Roger Federer

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