Yannick Noah Quotes

( Photo credit: Art Seitz © )

— Roger Federer, after capturing his sixth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title, breaking the record he shared with Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl.

"I have always considered tennis as combat in an arena between two gladiators who have their rackets and their courage as weapons."

— Yannick Noah, 1983 French Open champion.

"What a monster! I want nothing to do with him. All that money and he never has time to smile. He gives the game a bad image."

— Yannick Noah, on the dour Ivan Lendl.

"All of a sudden, I wasn't a tennis player anymore. I was black and I was a nobody and the reactions of people were completely different. Nothing bad, nothing that could start a fight, just different. In fact, I've never had any problems being black here. It's like Larry Holmes says: When you're black and you have money, then you are not black."

— Yannick Noah, recalling how he became unrecognized in France when he started wearing Rastafarian dreadlocks, in a 1983 Sports Illustrated article.