John McEnroe Quotes - BrainyQuote

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. John McEnroe

Line, Other, Run

Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people. John McEnroe

Everybody, Success, Loves

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. John McEnroe

Pain, Sure, Winning

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. John McEnroe

Next, Strong, Learn

There's a certain beauty and majesty to Wimbledon. The elegance, the way the grass looks on TV. John McEnroe

Elegance, Looks, TV

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. John McEnroe

Against, Important Thing

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. John McEnroe

Desire, Winning, Staying

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

Island, New, Long Island

I was a different kind of player as a kid and didn't do too much shouting and screaming. If things didn't go my way, I tended to get a bit overwhelmed. All I wanted to do was cry on my mom's shoulder. I didn't know how to handle defeat in front of a crowd, and I didn't want to be the loser. John McEnroe

Crowd, Kid, Different Kind

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. John McEnroe

Best Way, Part, Feel

Top 10
John McEnroe
Quotes

This taught me a lesson, but I'm not quite sure what it is. John McEnroe

Taught, Sure, Me

The good part of having six kids is, there's always one who wants to hug you and say, 'Daddy, I love you.' John McEnroe

Always, Love, Having

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. John McEnroe

Think, Crowd, Like

I'm a tell-it-like-it-is kind of person; I don't like being misled or someone not telling the truth. That upsets me. John McEnroe

Telling, Like, Kind

It's ironic - people used to want to suspend me and talk about how bad my behaviour was, but now they like it when I shout and scream. John McEnroe

Bad, Ironic, Suspend

Sometimes you get hungrier when you taste it. John McEnroe

Hungrier, Sometimes, Get

The older I get, the better I used to be. John McEnroe

Better, Get, Older

You hit a wall at some stage when you don't want it so bad, but you don't know when that's going to be - as far as competition or as far as health is concerned. Sometimes it's just natural. You just taste it, and you want it so bad that you find other gears. John McEnroe

Bad, Some, Other

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

Oh My God, Going, Like

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

Always, Through, Walls

I am someone who gets pretty worked up. John McEnroe

I Am, Pretty, Worked

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

Like, Made, Against

If you watch a guy go out on court and have a meltdown, you're not going to think, 'Oh my God, now I'm screwed.' Or you're not going to think, 'The umpire's going to give him calls because he's just told him he's an idiot or the pits of the world.' John McEnroe

I'm going to vote for Obama. I'm going for the change. John McEnroe

Going, Change, Obama

The mistake, if I made one, in the late 1980s, was thinking I needed to change my game. John McEnroe

Mistake, Game, Late

I don't take myself as seriously as I did when I was playing, and it works, and I think people see the self-deprecation in my commentary. John McEnroe

Think, I Think, Works

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