John McEnroe Quotes - BrainyQuote

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

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, Desire, Staying

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

Run, Line, Other

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

Walls, Always, Through

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, Always, Having

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

Against, Like, Made

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 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

Kid, Crowd, Different Kind

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

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

Success, Everybody, Loves

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

Feel, Best Way, Part

Top 10
John McEnroe
Quotes

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

New, Island, Long Island

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

Sports, Talking, Racket

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, Chelsea, Rooting

I think it's the mark of a great player to be confident in tough situations. John McEnroe

Think, Confident, I Think

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

Sometimes, Hungrier, Get

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? John McEnroe

Lose, Still, Other

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

Pretty, Making, Sure

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

Better, Older, Get

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

Like, Kind, Telling

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. John McEnroe

Book, I Think, Subtlety

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. John McEnroe

Will, Need, Months

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

Other, Than, Moron

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. John McEnroe

Think, Play, Meant

Believe it or not, I was a pretty shy youngster growing up. John McEnroe

Growing Up, Growing, Pretty

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

Artist, Got, Aspect

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