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I'll let the racket do the talking.

John McEnroe Quotes

American - Athlete Born: February 16, 1959

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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

Life, Time, Learning

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

Winning, Quality, Tennis

I'll let the racket do the talking. John McEnroe

Sports, Talking, Racket

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

Bike, Believe, Tennis

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

Truth, Me, Kind

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

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. John McEnroe

Eye, Remember, Problem

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

I Am, Me, Sneakers

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

Life, Future, Help

The only thing 'championship' about Wimbledon is its prestige. John McEnroe

Championship, Only, Prestige

Do you have any problems, other than that you're unemployed, a moron, and a dork? John McEnroe

Problems, You, Moron

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

Better, Older, Used

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

Beauty, Elegance, Grass

Sitting there clapping and smiling... it's difficult. You're like, 'Don't worry about it, you just double faulted, you just played a really dumb point. Keep positive.' Then more clapping. That would annoy me as a player. John McEnroe

Positive, Smiling, Me

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

Myself, Job, Long

With commentating, I've had a chance to show the humorous side of my personality that I didn't use on the court. It's fun, and I don't take myself too seriously. I have good broadcast teams with me, but I'm not a huge stats guy. I think they post the numbers too quickly, and I'd rather let the match play out a bit first. John McEnroe

Myself, Good, Personality

It's one thing if you live in London and you're rooting for Chelsea or you're in New York and you love the Giants or Jets and no matter who's on the team you're into it. It's different in tennis; you're sort of your own guy, so you have to reach out and grab a person in a different way. John McEnroe

Love, Team, Tennis

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

Love, I Love You, Good

I didn't serve and volley until I got to Wimbledon in '77. John McEnroe

Got, Serve, Until

The greatest compliment I ever got was when people called me an artist, and I understand that solo aspect of being an artist, when you're in there by yourself, trying to do something great, and people who don't even know you can come up and just dump on you. John McEnroe

Great, Yourself, Artist

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

Trying, Brick, Run

I went to play in Brazil when I had just turned 18 and was the world's top junior player. I got to the airport, and no one knew who I was. I couldn't speak any Portuguese, and no one spoke English. Then someone said something that resembled 'tennis,' and I went with that. John McEnroe

World, Speak, Tennis

I didn't get along with most of the players I played against, but the one guy I did get along with was my greatest rival, so it can be done. John McEnroe

Greatest, Done, Guy

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. John McEnroe

Respect, Great, Healthy

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

You, Actor, Part

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. John McEnroe

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