As a tennis player, or any professional athlete, our career has a shelf life. I don't want to waste any opportunities, I don't want to look back on it when I'm 45 and think I could have done a lot more.

I didn't know I could even be a professional tennis player, honestly. All this is actually very, very unexpected.

A lot of times when I'm confident and relaxed on the court, I'm going to be a pretty tough out. But when I'm not so confident and not so relaxed, I tense up and my balls fall short and everything. It just sort of unravels.

In the past, I've played where I only just rely on my serve.

I didn't know how this would play out when I was a kid. I knew I wanted to play ball, be a paleontologist, and write poetry. I thought, 'Heck, where will I find the time? Well, football comes first, and I'll just find some time for poetry, and paleontology can come at the end.' I made this plan at 14, and dang, it's all coming together.

In 2003, being Virginia Player of the Year was an amazing feeling because I think that was the moment I realized I could actually, really go far in my sport, and I was actually, really good at something. At that moment, I knew that I could play at a high level.

My thing is, and I've always been this way - to get to know as many people as I possibly can on a personal level, so that way, when you get on the football field, you've got your buddy right beside you, and you're ready to go.

I am very proud to align myself with Miken - a brand known as an innovator and leader in the development of high performance sports equipment.