But can you simulate the pressure of a match when training?
I would say so. I always practice and train as if I was playing a match. And when I’m playing a match, that’s a sort of mental practice as well.
Would you consider yourself more of a lone wolf?
No, absolutely not. I love to be surrounded by people, especially by my family.
So that means you would describe yourself as a team player?
I think I’m always a team player. I love team sports, even though I compete in a sport that you play as an individual. But I think I’m a team player – every day, in tennis, but also in my other activities.
You once said, “Life is more than tennis.”
That’s just a fact of life. There is so much more to life than tennis. My family and my friends are also part of my life and they will be there in the future when I stop playing tennis.
Let’s talk about your watch. At first, we thought you had a whole new watch. But then we realized you just changed the strap. Didn’t you like the blue anymore?
It’s just that I like colors and enjoy changing the color of my straps from time to time. I’ll be playing in Roland Garros soon, and orange would go really well with the clay there.
What does luxury mean to you?
Luxury is a lot of things. Luxury is time at home with my family, with my friends. But luxury is also material things. Things that have a lot of quality work in them, with lots of time invested in them, things that were given a lot of thought and consideration. And if the materials are of a high quality as well, then a high price seems reasonable. A personal luxury for me is my long friendship with Richard Mille.
What do you and Richard Mille share in common?
We share many things in common, despite the fact that we are actually quite different as people. We both share a passion for what we do, and that’s very important for me.