Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" 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. "

Related Quotes:

" They should be required to be in less events; there should be less events for the women. It seems it takes an actual meltdown on the court or women quitting the game altogether before they realize there's a need to change the schedule. "

John McEnroe

Change

Game

Need

" 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. "

" No one cares about the Davis Cup. How many people know I won five Davis Cups and seven majors, but that I rarely played the Australian Open? "

" You look at a guy like Michael Jordan: I can't believe there will be other basketball players like him. "

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

" I'll let the racket do the talking. "

" 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 got a lot of publicity, but it steamrolled. Event organizers weren't used to that kind of behavior, so later, they tightened the rules. "

" The only thing 'championship' about Wimbledon is its prestige. "

" I am someone who gets pretty worked up. "

John McEnroe

Who

" Look at Becker and Djokovic. If you look at Novak's record since Boris has been there, it's been phenomenal. "

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

" 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. "

" I won't admit to having a poster of Borg on my bedroom door. But I certainly found him to be someone who got me way more into tennis. "

John McEnroe

Someone

Way

" When I was eight and a half, my parents moved to a part of Queens where there was a club nearby. We joined, and if you believe in someone up above, I think I was meant to play tennis. "

" If you yell at your box, I'm not really sure it's something where it should be a penalty. It seems like you hurt yourself. "

John McEnroe

Box

Hurt

" 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. "

" If you're out there and things are going badly, are you going to cry or break down? "

" I'm 56 years old. I like to get out on the court. I continue to try to play the best I can. Obviously, I'm nowhere near where I was when half this age. But I can still hit a pretty decent ball. "

" I thought if I looked back and evaluated my life, it would help me in the future. "

" There's always a concern when you play the week before a major. That's not the easiest time for a scheduler or a promoter, I would think. "

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

" When I was 25, if you'd have said I was going to be a commentator, that would seem like, 'Oh, my God. That's a huge step down.' "

John McEnroe

You

Step

" 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

" 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. "

" I was a Yankee fan until 1981. That was the year the Yankees were two up on the Dodgers and lost four straight. And George Steinbrenner apologized to the city. "

" If, in a few months, I'm only number 8 or number 10 in the world, I'll have to look at what off-the-court work I can do. I will need to do something if I want to be number 1. "

" 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. "

" My best tennis at my peak was when I played a lot of matches. "

" You have to keep persevering. An actor goes to a lot of auditions and doesn't get the part. "