John McEnroe Quotes
November 1, 2006: "I know people
argue that the top women have easier matches in the
same week, their matches don't last as long, and therefore
they don't deserve to own as much. I would probably
have said the same thing when I was playing, but that
isn't the point. I went to see the movie, King Kong,
it was too long, [so] being long didn't make it better.
So I don't believe the argument about the matches being
longer is relevant."
- John McEnroe, three-time
Wimbledon champion, telling GQ magazine that he rejects
the All England Club's argument that women do not deserve
parity because they only play the best-of-three sets
while the men play best-of-five.
September 11, 2006: "The way Roger moves, he's a ballet dancer out there. He floats above the court. His style is the most beautiful I've seen."
- John McEnroe,1980s
champion and now a TV analyst, with high praise for
Roger Federer, in Time magazine.
June 1, 2005: "Not since the days of
Boris Becker have I seen such intimidation on a tennis
court. Rafael Nadal is on clay what the German phenomenon
was on grass.”
—John McEnroe, 1980s superstar
and now an NBC-TV analyst, after the Spanish teen
easily beat Richard Gasquet at the French Open, in
his column in The Telegraph (UK)
December 13, 2004:: "It goes back to the days when I was a kid
and we called out our own lines. I was taught if there's a doubt, don't call it in, if there's not a doubt call it out."
-- John McEnroe, 45 and competing on the Delta Tour of
Champions, with an implausible rationale when asked about
his ethos on questioning calls during his tumultuous career.
September 27, 2004: "He's
the most gifted player that I've ever seen in my life.
I've seen a lot of people play. I've seen the [Rod]
Lavers -- I go back a bit -- I played against some of
the great players -- the Samprases, Beckers, Connors,
Borg. You name it. This guy could be the greatest of
all-time. "
-- John McEnroe, seven-time
Grand Slam champion and now a TV analyst, praising
Roger Federer.
1992: "My basic problem was that I would get all tripped out by the negatives-bad calls, bad days, bad feelings-and anger got to be a habit. I was like a compulsive gambler or an alcoholic. Anger became a powerful habit."
- McEnroe in a late-career interview in Tennis magazine
1979: "My greatest strength is that I have no weaknesses."
- McEnroe
1983: "You'll be sorry you hit me, you fucking Communist asshole."
- McEnroe after being hit in the side by a ball struck by his Czech opponent, Tomas Smid
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