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Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander answers your questions in the latest edition of "Ask Mats Wilander!"

Valerie: Hi Mats. Could you comment about fellow Swedes Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson winning the Olympic silver medal in the doubles? Also, do you think it is important for Roger Federer to play more doubles matches after his success at the Olympics? Whoever might be number one today - for me, you'll remain the best.

Mats: "Sweden didn't get that many medals in general and we got a silver in tennis, which puts tennis suddenly on the front pages of newspapers. There was huge media interest around the fact that they made the finals and we haven't had that since Thomas Johansson won the Australian Open in 2000 or since we won the Davis Cup, which was more than ten years ago. As for Federer, I think playing doubles helps his game. I think the emotion he felt winning gold in the Olympics has taken him to a different level, because I've never seen him as pumped up as he is at this year's US Open. He has allowed himself to be more emotional on court and not just play tennis as a physical game. It matters to his opponents when he shows emotions, because it takes away something from opponents and makes them think about things. In my view, he's made it much harder for himself than it should have been to accomplish what he has accomplished, because he's literally the nice guy who doesn't show any emotions. And rivals are not intimidated by him at all mentally, only physically. Now I think once he starts showing that emotion, he will start winning matches when he's playing poorly as well as when he playing well."

Sniper: I read in French newspaper L'Equipe during Roland Garros that you said that Serbian tennis is not at a top level. How can you say that with the success of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic?

Mats: "I said that the Serbian Federation is minute compared to everyone else. I mean they don't even have a tournament, so where do they make ends meat? These guys that have come through there, they have a passion for the game. The Federation obviously organisationally wise and financially is not going to be at the same level as a big Federation, so the likes of Djokovic, Tipsarevic, Ivanovic, and Jankovic play tennis with possibly a greater passion then most professionals out on Tour. Obviously their actual tennis is at a top level."

Fatiha: How do you explain the gap between the top two and Djokovic, and also the gap between the top three and the rest of the field?

Mats: "Djokovic is not as mature as Federer and Nadal, not even close to being as mature as either of them. The gap between them is due to the fact that Djokovic is still a little bit of a junior on court. He shows a lot of negative emotions when he's hurt or when there's adversity. He needs to get rid of that because people like Nadal will eat that up, and fuel themselves if they are losing and they see Djokovic, not clowning around, but just showing too many negative emotions. So that is something he needs to work on. He's such a smart person that he will learn to work on that. Now, why is there such a big gap between the three of them and the rest? Because tennis-wise, they are much more complete than any other player. They're way smarter in terms of using their strengths and exploiting their opponents' weaknesses. And the footwork of those three is exceptional compared to the rest of the guys."

Philippe Lambert: How did you feel when you managed to win your third Grand Slam in one year and complete the Little Slam in 1988?

Mats: "Winning three Slams in one year is not what is important. It just means that your name is in the paper more often and people come up and say 'wow what a great year.' It's more about the longevity of a career. The only thing I'm really proud of is having won on all four surfaces. That's something that Federer hasn't done and Nadal hasn't done. I'm not proud because they haven't done it, I'm dying for them to do it. But it's something that makes you proud when people say 'look how hard it is to do.' Which means that I had a sane approach to the game of tennis, which was to learn all the shots and learn how to deal with all of my opponents on every different surface. And this should be the main objective of every tennis player in the world. And it is the objective of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer for sure."

Andre from Stuttgart: Hello Mats. Do you think Juan Martin Del Potro can continue his progress and break into the top 10 this year and maybe one day be a world number one - or will another young player, like Ernests Gulbis, get the top spot?

Mats: "No. I can't say that he will be number one, because there are so many players that we haven't seen come up. But his potential to be a top player is there. The physical talent is there, obviously mentally he's very strong, but it would be going out on a limb to guess at his ranking. He's got a great game and potential to be one of the better players in the world, that's for sure."

Jessica from the Netherlands: Hi Mats. We both know that Roger is a fantastic tennis player and I know you also want him to win the French Open. I personally believe most of Federer's losses to Nadal were caused by a lack of self confidence and mental strength. You were mentally very strong as a player and I believe there is one person who could assist/advise/support Roger to become mentally stronger and win the French Open. Guess who?? You! What do you think of that idea?

Mats: "I do think I would be a very good person [to coach Roger] and in many ways I think I would be the perfect person for that, if a personal relationship had nothing to do with anything. You never know how you'll get along with a guy once you get into a conversation in a room when it's just the two of you sitting there. But I do think that he needs somebody who has won the French Open a bunch of times in different ways. I won the French Open against Guillermo Villas by pushing, and I won the French Open against Ivan Lendl in 1985 by changing my game after a set and becoming way more aggressive and coming to the net a lot on poor shots. If Roger Federer asked me for help, would I say yes? Yes, obviously. I think that's pretty far-fetched, but everybody would love to work with one of the nicest people in the world and the greatest player in the world."

flett619: Hey Mats. Who do you believe has the best chance of claiming a solid grip on the women's world number one ranking after the US Open?

Mats: "There is definitely a lack of players with the overall confidence and skill level who could grab the number one ranking and hold onto it for a while. Ivanovic has a skill level at certain times that's really high, and she has a confidence at certain times that's really high. And she has won a major and made a couple of finals, but she's still very young and she throws in the odd disastrous match. I think Maria Sharapova has the mental strength. She has won enough majors where she could grab hold of the number one spot, but her passion for the sport is in question to me. I think she has a passion for competing and winning, but how much does she love the sport? How much does she want to explore and work on her all-around game, or are all of her efforts just geared towards winning? They should be geared towards improving and becoming a better player. And with her, sometimes I have to question the reasons why she plays tennis apart from the fact that she wants to be number one in the world."

Stanley K: Do you think that Roger can still break Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles?

Mats: "I do think Federer can break Pete's record, but he needs to subtly, slowly change his game according to his opponent a little more confidently than he is doing."

Buttercloud: Hi Mats. If you were Ernest Gulbis's coach, how would you help him develop the mental toughness necessary so that he can play the kind of tennis that he's capable of doing?

Mats: "I would just let him develop in his own time. He's got a certain way of playing, he's got his style down and he knows how to win points. The fire is not yet burning as brightly there as it is when Nadal plays. Ivan Lendl was 24-years-old when he won his first major, and he won eight. I was 24 when I won my last major, and I won seven. So there's no formula for anything. Gulbis has the potential physically and mentally to win Grand Slam tournaments. How strong his desire is to do it is the question that he hasn't answered yet."

Just me: Hello Mats! I wanted to ask you for how long do you think Nadal will be able to retain his number one spot?

Mats: "As long as his body holds up. In terms of majors, I believe that Nadal has the fire and the all-around game to even surpass, possibly, Federer, who could win 15 Grand Slams. The fact that he's lefty, his work ethic and the way he plays with passion can take him to any number of majors. I'm expecting him, if he's healthy physically, to get to at least ten majors, that's a minimum."

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