1. QUOTE from:
    Why did Andre Agassi hate tennis?
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    Pendleton's pleasure-free, angst-ridden drive to win is almost a defining characteristic of the greatest sports stars. "People say the pressure on top stars such as Andy Murray is unbelievable ... but I feel the pressure is from the stars themselves. They expect the best and if they don't deliver, it is horrible for them. With a sport like tennis, where at any tournament there can be only one winner, there are going to be a lot of perfectionists having to deal with disappointment. You need to be incredibly mentally strong." Not all are. Former England cricket all-rounder Vic Marks has a poignant insight into the realities of being an athlete. Full Article at Guardian Unlimited
    People say the pressure on top stars such as Andy Murray is unbelievable ... but I feel the pressure is from the stars themselves. They expect the best and if they don't deliver, it is horrible for them. With a sport like tennis, where at any tournament there can be only one winner, there are going to be a lot of perfectionists having to deal with disappointment. You need to be incredibly mentally strong.
    – Barry Cowan (tennis) SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
All quotes from:
Why did Andre Agassi hate tennis?
  1. People said what a bloody cynical and churlish response that was – but the prospect of being away for four to five months is not necessarily very appealing. Everybody thinks it must be so wonderful to spend the winter in the Caribbean or Australia, but it's not when you're away from your family and you'...
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  2. I was out with my little boy. That's got to be out of order, hasn't it?
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  3. Freddie got a sense of that before he retired
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  4. I soon worked out that the only thing I could do was to get another gold medal. I need one. If 2012 goes to plan, winning the Olympics on my home turf, I might finally feel I've achieved the ultimate for me.
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  5. I remember being underwhelmed when I was selected to go on tour for England
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  6. I worried that I would be the one person who let down the team. So winning was just a relief. And even that felt like a complete anti-climax. It was very surreal on the podium and as soon as I stepped off it I was, like, 'What on earth am I going to do now?' I found it quite hard to deal with. It was, l...
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  7. In Boardman's case ... he liked the winning not the cycling itself, and he drove himself to win.
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  8. I'm a young man, relatively speaking. Thirty-six. But I wake as if 96. After two decades of sprinting, stopping on a dime, jumping high and landing hard, my body no longer feels like my body. Consequently, my mind no longer feels like my mind.
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  9. But it becomes more than a job, it takes over your life
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago
  10. I was an emotional wreck beforehand
    SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited 4 weeks ago

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