15 Quotes & Sayings By John Mcenroe

Born in Queens, New York, John McEnroe grew up in the competitive world of tennis. He entered the world elite at age 11, winning the US Open junior championship and the US Open junior doubles championship. The following year he became the youngest player ever to win a Grand Slam singles title (19 years and six months). In 1984 he made his first appearance at Wimbledon and went on to win his first and only singles title there, beating Bjorn Borg Read more

In 1985 he won his second gold medal at the Olympics by defeating Mark Cox in straight sets in the men's singles final.

1
The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. John McEnroe
2
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
3
I like John McCain, or he seems like a cool guy in a lot of ways. I don't agree with a lot of his policies, but he still seems like a cool guy. John McEnroe
4
I'll let the racket do the talking. John McEnroe
5
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. John McEnroe
6
Tennis was a white, upper-class sport, and I wanted it to be treated like other sports were. John McEnroe
7
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
8
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
9
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
10
It seems like the richer you are, the more chance you have of paying less tax. John McEnroe
11
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
12
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
13
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
14
As I got older and started moving up the ranking, the matches got more important, and my emotions ratcheted up. I guess I hid my real feelings behind the anger. John McEnroe