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" I don't really know why I started playing as a kid, but I grew up in Queens, New York, not too far from Forest Hills, where they played the U.S. Open in those days. I even got to be a ball boy there. Also, there was a tennis court just a block away from our house, and I'd hang out down there. "

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" There was a line call that didn't look so great. I went ballistic. Called the umpire a jerk. Whacked a ball into the stands. Then smacked a soda can with my racket, and got soda all over the King of Sweden, who was sitting in the front row. "

John McEnroe

Look

Great

Sitting

" It seems like the richer you are, the more chance you have of paying less tax. "

" I had a similar year back in 1984 when I felt like I couldn't lose. "

" What I've realised is that you can run miles, jump on a bike, lift weights, and all that other garbage, but the bottom line is that you get in tennis shape by playing tennis. You build the right muscles, and I don't believe people can do it as successfully any other way. "

" The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. Life is a learning process and you have to try to learn what's best for you. Let me tell you, life is not fun when you're banging your head against a brick wall all the time. "

" When I walk out there on court, I become a maniac... Something comes over me, man. "

" I used to take pride if my kids were playing basketball, and I'd be there, and I wouldn't say anything. People were obviously expecting me to yell and scream at the ref and at them and everything. I wouldn't say anything. "

" If Roger stopped right now and never won another match, to me he'd already be one of the greatest players to ever play the game. To me, he's the greatest all around talent that I've ever seen. "

" I grew up watching Dr. J, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this guy is the greatest basketball player I ever saw.' "

" Nick Kyrgios, if you don't want to be a professional tennis player, do something else. "

" Roland Garros is the only one of the four majors that is 15 days, and that is too long. "

" But these guys learn so fast now, they sort of soak up the information, they're fearless. Those are the guys who learn from their mistakes and come back strong the next time. "

" I'd like to be the commissioner of tennis, but do I want to get into politics? Sometimes I have delusions of grandeur that that would be an interesting, good thing. I'm talking about actual politics, like being a congressman, but then I see how unbelievably nasty it really is, and maybe I'm not quite knowledgeable enough to actually do it. "

" I'm generally happy, although my kids and wife may sometimes argue with that. "

" Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people. "

" I remember when I was younger taking more pride in Wimbledon than the French. That and the U.S. Open - they were the ones I wanted to win. "

" You're asking too much of the women. They shouldn't be playing as many events as men. If tennis is best served by women playing events with men, so be it. "

" I am finicky about making sure my sneakers are pretty tight. It is almost like a superstition for me. "

John McEnroe

Almost

I Am

" I did a terrible job of composing myself. I was a spoiled brat from Long Island who benefitted from the energy of New York. "

" I was always fighting the establishment, trying to run through brick walls. "

" I'd like to think I could have and should have won more, but that's not the point. And I was at the point where I was playing great tennis in the mid 80s - the type of tennis people hadn't seen before - and I was very proud of that. "

" If you look at the top 100 players, you would see that the great majority of them have had at least a couple of surgeries. That tells me that we have to protect the players. "

" If you really want to get it more exciting, no linesmen. And have the players call their lines. That would make the game more exciting, I promise you. It would be awesome. "

" One of the things I respected about Connors was that one second he would be spewing a four-letter word, the next second he would do something that had people falling off the aisles. Yet he never seemed to lose his concentration. "

" I can't speak for other people, but I still hate losing. When I did lose, I found it easier to yell than to cry. Guys aren't supposed to cry, are they? "

" They would go back and listen to my matches, and two days later, I'd be fined. Because no one heard it while it was being played, but they heard it on some mic behind the court. Is that the way it should be? I don't think so. "

" I like to be close to water and the ocean, particularly. I love to get out and body surf. I like mountain biking, too. "

John McEnroe

Mountain

Love

" Of course for your main rivals, you're going to get extra motivated for it, particularly if you haven't played him for a long time. "

" If they think I'm better at commentating than I was as a player, then I must be pretty darned good at commentating. "

" I like John McCain, or he seems like a cool guy in a lot of ways. I don't agree with a lot of his policies, but he still seems like a cool guy. "