We are professionals. We know when we're playing badly, so if you have a poor game, you work in training to put things right so form comes back.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'm pretty professional. I'm very aware when I'm not playing well and what I need to improve. I'm pretty motivated to fix things. There are guys out there who are not realistic; they don't like to take blame for certain things they don't do well. That's the nature of doubles sometimes: it's easy to find faults in your partner.
For me, sometimes it's more important to perform well in training and know that I am improving rather than scoring in a game. It's doing the hard work, day in, day out.
Most of us have had that experience - at around puberty - of realising that, despite whatever efforts we put into our chosen sports, we will become at best competent.
I think when you compete every week, when you play under pressure daily, you find your rituals to be 100 percent focused on what you're doing.
When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all.
Professional players work almost every day, for hours on end, and the emphasis is on the word 'work.' It can be with a partner or it can be alone, but professional chess is always a pursuit of something new and surprising.
I played with a lot of great players before. They're all the same. They take a lot of responsibility for their own play, put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform and to play well.
The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.
I never found a professional environment that made the production of plays efficient. Teamwork is demanded, but there are very few teams.
I believe in professionalism, but playing is not like a job. You have to be grateful to have the opportunity to play.