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.

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

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.

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.

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.

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that is a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life.