Camaraderie builds. We travelled together to Rome, Paris, Wimbledon, the U.S., lots of places. In a way, I miss it right now. My opponents were also my best friends.

Players who win on a clay surface are those who can control the ball, playing steadily and accurately from the back-court, keeping the ball in play and moving it around with changes of speed and spin, and resisting the temptation to over-hit.

Looking back, in comparison, there wasn't that much that you could do with a wooden racket. In my day, the matches were certainly much less demanding physically.

When Hoad and Rosewall were at their best, and I was a youngster, they had no qualms about saying, 'Hey kid, let's go and play.' That helped me to get up the ladder.

Actors need bricks to play with, and in fact we rejected all the improvised fragments we had made without a plan. Improvisation without a plan is like tennis without tennis balls.

I don't think you necessarily have to be crazy-fit for freeskiing. So much of the sport has to do with agility and nimbleness and flexibility and other things. It's a lot of muscle memory - it's more like dance, in a way - it's technique more than strength or endurance.

Serena's arguably the best athlete of all time, so getting to know her was surreal.

As for my speed, I'm not the fastest, but just like in other sports, you learn to stay away from your weaknesses and make more use of your strengths: my shooting ability, court awareness, rebounding, and helping out defensively.