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Wednesday blog

Wednesday blog

Andy -

I’m into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for a fifth straight year and it’s a brilliant feeling – but as with every tournament I play, I want to go all the way.
 
While the weather over the past couple of days made things pretty difficult, I was pleased with how I played against Marin Cilic and look forward to Wednesday’s meeting with David Ferrer.
 
I was keen to answer some more of your questions, so we’ve picked out some that were sent during my match using the Twitter hashtag #AskAndy.
 
Q) What did you make of the Euro 2012 final and what will you do to relax in the evening now the football is all over?

“It was a really good final. Spain deserved to win but Italy got a bit unlucky with the injury to Motta because they started the second half pretty well. After going down to 10 men they were never going to come back. I thought it was a great tournament – lots of goals and attacking football. Now it’s finished, I guess my evenings will be spent on the PlayStation, watching the tennis, some movies and eating.”
 
Q) Andy, any practical jokes on Mr Lendl whilst the rain delays have been occurring?

“There haven’t been any practical jokes that I’m aware of. There hasn’t been much time for them because he spends most of his time in the canteen! He does like his food, but he works hard as well so I think he just about earns it, haha.”
 
Q) Which female player would be your ideal mixed doubles partner?

“If I was going for Olympic gold, I would probably take Serena Williams. She would probably be the best mixed partner.”
 
Q) If the current men’s top four tennis players were boxers (past or present) who would they be?

“I’d say Roger Federer would be like Sugar Ray Leonard, renowned for his style. Rafael Nadal would be like Manny Pacquiao; ferocious powerful and relentless. Novak Djokovic would be like Roberto Duran; as tough and versatile as they come. I’ll pick Floyd Mayweather for myself; he’s my favourite boxer to watch.”
 
Q) Do you ever get a song stuck in your head during a match and does it get on your nerves?

“Sometimes you’ll have a few lines of a song you might have been listening to before you go on court, but that can be a good thing because if you’re in a long match you can’t be focused for every second. You need to have little things in your head during the 20-second breaks between points or at the change of ends to break up your thoughts on the match a little bit. So long as you’re completely focused once the points start, that’s what’s important.”
 
Q) If you could be a superhero, which would you be?

“Hmmm, tricky one. I quite like the idea of being Superman and being able to fly. Being invisible would be pretty cool. Are there any invisible superheroes? Is the Invisible Man a superhero?”
 
Q) How many pairs of shoes do you go through at a Grand Slam?

“Probably about four during a Slam. You normally have one pair for practice, one for the matches and then when the second week starts, the same again.”
 
Q) How did your trials with Rangers go? Do you think you could have made it as a professional footballer?

“I had the trials and they actually went pretty well. I was asked to go back but decided to move to Spain to pursue a tennis career. It’s tough to know if I’d have made it though.”
 
Q) If you could have any one of Lendl’s titles or achievements, which would you choose?

“His record at the US Open was unbelievable – he reached eight consecutive finals there between 1982 and 1989, and won the title three times. I’d happily take the titles and finals.”
 
Q) If you could have any other players serve, backhand or forehand etc. what would you have?

“That’s an easy one: I’d take the serve of John Isner or Ivo Karlovic.”
 
Q) What food that you aren’t allowed to eat have you eaten?

“I had a Feast ice cream after my first-round victory over Nikolay Davydenko. Just a little treat, I do like a bit of ice cream now and again and Feast’s are pretty good!”

Andy was talking to the BBC