Brad Gilbert Quotes

I get quite stroppy if I lose - but I've developed skills with a mind coach to help deal with the highs and lows of tennis at this level.

I think I play better when people say keep showing us what you've got, keep showing us. And whatever's going to get me to play at a high level is what I want to do.

When I first came to England to play I saw coaches having a go at players when they made mistakes and they would literally be talking them through the game.

Coaches often sting me to get the best of me. I am used to it.

I think it helps me. You know, I've got two more meets under my belt, and that's always a good thing.

So as an amateur Olympic competitor I loved criticism, because it made me better. But now as a professional I don't really know how to channel it or where to take it, so I don't take it quite as well.

You know looking back on it now I used the fight and after the fight as motivation, to make sure I was going to be the best middleweight in the world for a long time.

I do not abuse players. I talk to myself; I abuse myself. It's my way of letting off steam. I do it after every century; I do not do it always. I keep telling myself: 'Improve, improve from the previous match, the previous shot. You can do it.'

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did.

In football, you are going to have highs and lows, and you have to recognize when you have new opportunities and walk in those.

When I got to match point in the final I was afraid I'd be a little nervous, but I just said, You have to stay focused, just think about what you have to do.

I'm a sports junkie, and I am interested in athletic will - how you exceed the expectations of your own performance when it counts to deliver something beyond yourself so that you can win.

I learned early in sports that to be effective - for a player to play the best he can play - is a matter of concentration and being unaware of distractions, positive or negative.

Sitting there clapping and smiling... it's difficult. You're like, 'Don't worry about it, you just double faulted, you just played a really dumb point. Keep positive.' Then more clapping. That would annoy me as a player.

Playing a best of five-set match, you can always bounce back, even if you lose the first set.

If we have a good day and we win, I'll celebrate and enjoy it. If I have a bad day and I lose, I'll be disappointed and then come back the next day and think about the next team.

Winning matches on any surface will definitely give you a much larger element of trust in what you're doing.

As a coach, you have to have a short-term memory when it comes to shooting. Let it fly and move on.

You always want to give yourself an edge, want to help your team win. That's pretty much going to preparation.

That competitive nature comes out when I feel like I'm playing bad and when things aren't going right.

In the last two World Cups, I realised that when you put a lot of pressure on yourself, it does not work.

I just go out and play my best tennis.

We must take on each match as best we can and try to recover from each as quickly as possible.

I have to switch my own mentality into a winning mode, not playing for myself or trying to be selfish.

I'd be walking off the court thinking I didn't put everything out there, which was the last thing I wanted, so I just went out there and focused on my game, and it worked out great. It's nice to know I can play at that level, but to do it week in, week out is a different challenge, and I want to be able to do that.