Mary Pierce Quotes

Over the course of six amateur fights and two professional fights I learned a lot about how to get things done, how to pick myself up after disappointment, how to work through frustration and how to process moments of success.

To play with pressure is always a good thing. I like to play with pressure.

My mentality is my biggest strength.

You can look at it and say I'm doing this better or that better, but the bottom line is, I just learned to be mentally tougher.

Mindset is important, I should always think about finishing games from any position.

You test yourself. That's what real fighters do.

As always, I keep my head up, look objectively at all the matches I played, see where I can improve, bits and pieces, and, you know, get ready as quick as I can.

You can overcome anything if you don't bellyache.

When I go in to compete, whether it's gymnastics or anything else, I do my own thing. I compete with myself.

Everyone has egos, and you want to come out on top. You have to pick yourself up and go at it again.

You will be a failure, until you impress the subconscious with the conviction you are a success. This is done by making an affirmation which 'clicks.'

When people criticize me, instead of putting my head down, it gives me energy to do even more.

I don't care what other people say. I fight every day to be the best player I can.

What used to drive me was the fact that I wanted to be better than everybody at something. One of my best qualities is that I used whatever other people found to be an adverse thing to be a positive thing for myself.

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.

The pool is terrible, but that doesn't have much to do with my record swims. That's all mental attitude.

I really built myself up, darn it, to be very strong.

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it.

I couldn't control Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson or Lee Trevino. The only person I could control was me. The only person I could prepare for events was me. And if I didn't play well, I didn't play well, and I wasn't going to compete.

Other people may not have had high expectations for me... but I had high expectations for myself.

My biggest problem will be lack of match toughness but I am a positive, optimistic person.

Always imitate the behavior of the winners when you lose.

I pretty much knew that I was going to come in fourth, but then I said, 'I'm fourth at the Olympic Games. What are you talking about? Why is that disappointing?'

To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.

I always think I am going to do my best.