Very interesting interview with Tsonga in l'Equipe Sept.16: I'm between apprehension and impatience. The tendon is still sensitive and a bit painful. I'm still not putting too much stress on it. I need some time before I do that.

(On sending a "B" DC team against lesser opponents)I made the connexion to my injury. In Argentina (QF beginning of April) I played my heart out and won in 5 (Berlocq), and I was dead the next day because I'd just got in from the hard court in Miami with 8 hours of plane travel still in my legs. We were all exhausted. I was fried and I lose. If I could have had 10 days off after Miami, it would have been different. 10 days to me is a third of my holidays.

Spain won DC several times and they didn't always have Rafa. We don't have to be there all the time. The frustration is real...

(New coach) It's not like there's a transfer window. There's no deadline. The objective really is to find a structure that would put the odds on my side. I'm looking for somewhere I can recuperate, where there are monitoring facilities for the medical, nutritional, and physical preparation for tennis. A place to prepare mentally. I need to build a more complete team than I could have with Roger. We didn't work badly together, but, when you get to a certain level, with the constraints that exist, you need a war machine you can fall back on.

There's thought behind this. I'm criticised for stopping with Roger in the middle of the season, but the idea is to have time to prepare for 2014 by finding solutions, which don't come just by snapping your fingers. The result might be having someone to direct my practices who collaborates with someone else, who mayby was a top-10 player. One I travel with, and another I'm in contact with by phone.

How did Murray win his slams? Because he's surrounded by 14 people. I won't be travelling with that many, but perhaps I'll have a group where I train.

It's complicated for me. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. It's really a bit sad because I train like crazy. I'm an animal physically, but that's not how I'm going to beat the top 2-3. I've tried to see just how far I can go. But there's a point where my body says to me "You're a nice guy, but this isn't possible." I can't go 5 sets with those guys without it affecting my health. I'm not on the same planet as Nadal and Djoko. Their level never drops, so I have to beat them quickly.

I have to be explosive. I have to change the way I work. I have to be quicker, pack more punch, move forward, hurt them.

What I learned with Roger has stayed with me. I know I can stay in rallies if I have to. It's one more option for me, but I can't do it better than they can.

But I can be better with other things, like pure hitting. Because I'm stronger and hit the ball harder than most, and can do it from almost anywhere on the court. I can go to the net and place volleys, I'm athletic at the net, I can run, I can cover a lot of ground. Even better than before.

If I reach the end of my career without attaining my dreams, at least I've tried everything possible, explored everything. If I don't succeed, it's because I wasn't good enough, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm most proud of doing everything I could with my head held high. I don't know many who've had a herniated disc at 19, then made the top 10.

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