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

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" 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. "

" What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well. "

" I always got along with Borg, who was my greatest rival. People like to see me and Connors, me and Lendl, go at it. We didn't like each other. "

" Well I think that's probably one of a few, where I grew up in the City of New York, it's got a lot of energy, my parents are Irish-American so there was a bit of yelling going on in my house but it seemed normal. "

" 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 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. "

" I don't think enough players channel the energy of the crowd. If it's done properly, and you don't let anger overwhelm and distract you, it's like a shot of adrenaline in the arm, and it gets the crowd pumped up. "

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

" I can't advocate people not liking each other. But... I'd prefer it. "

" 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. "

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

" What made my matches against Borg and Connors interesting was, comparing it to boxing, it was like a puncher and a counter-puncher. "

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

" We should reach out to people to try to go after the fans the way other sports do. Because we can't just depend on the fact that it is a great game. "

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

" 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. "

" No other athlete in any sport has ever had to go through what I have to. "

" Sometimes my negativity worked to my advantage, and early in my career, it got me going. But you need to understand that you're not just fighting opponents, you're also fighting yourself. "

" The best way I knew how was to give 110% and want it more than them, and walk on the court and every moment of the match feel like it was the end of the world, in a sense. So that worked for me in a lot of ways. There were times that it hurt me, but for the most part, it helped me. "

" I happened to be one of those guys who doesn't play much golf. "

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

" I haven't seen a professional player come out of New York in over 20 years since my brother Patrick came out. Blake spent a few years in Harlem, but he moved to Connecticut when he was a kid. "

" I just remember watching Federer the first year he won Wimbledon. He was struggling with his back problem. I remember it vividly. It looked like there was a chance he was not going to finish. He had that look in his eye. Then, somehow, he found the wherewithal to dig a little deeper, and suddenly he wins the thing, and he's a different player. "

" I'm sure a lot of players say it, but winning is almost so you don't lose. The thrill of winning is not as great as the pain of losing. "

" I think the players, I put in the book for example that we should go back to wood rackets, probably they laughed at me, I'm a dinosaur, but I think that you see these great players, have even more variety and you see more strategy, there'd be more subtlety. "

" I would put tiebreakers in the fifth set, no question about it. "

" The perception is I didn't get along with umpires, obviously, and I didn't, on the court. But off the court, we had a good vibe. "

" Nadal and Roger Federer have great respect for each other. I think Novak Djokovic gets under those two guys' skin a little bit, and maybe they don't want to admit it, and I think that's, in a way, healthy. "

" When I felt I was rejected by my first wife, and she said, 'Some day you will thank me for this,' you know what? I do. And so, sometimes it is darkest before the dawn. You can think it is bleak and you can't see. You never know. "

" I've seen tennis clubs close in Manhattan and garages put up in their place, and I'd sure like to be part of reversing that trend. "