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You really are never playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.

Arthur Ashe

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Arthur Ashe
Age: 49 †
Born: 1943
Born: July 10
Died: 1993
Died: February 6
Military Officer
Tennis Player
Richmond
Virginia
Arthur Robert Ashe
Jr.
Opponent
Opponents
Playing
Really
Never

More quotes by Arthur Ashe

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I take the good with the bad, and I try to face them both with as much calm and dignity as I can muster.
Arthur Ashe
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You've got to make a lot of sacrifices and spend a lot of time if you really want to achieve with this sport, or in any sport, or in anything truly worthwhile.
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Life is like a tennis game. You can't win without serving.
Arthur Ashe
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If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life.
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True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
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There is a terrific apprehension among some people that blacks will take over the sport... It will create problems because their behavior, speech and dress is just a completely different culture.
Arthur Ashe
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I have always drawn strength from being close to home.
Arthur Ashe
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I don't care who you are, you're going to choke in certain matches. You get to a point where your legs don't move and you can't take a deep breath. You start to hit the ball about a yard wide, instead of inches.
Arthur Ashe
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Throughout my formal education I spent many, many hours in public and school libraries. Libraries became courts of last resort, as it were. The current definitive answer to almost any question can be found within the four walls of most libraries.
Arthur Ashe
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My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race or ethnic identity.
Arthur Ashe
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Sometimes, a defeat can be more beautiful and satisfying than certain victories. The English have a point in insisting that it matters not who won or lost, but how you played the game.
Arthur Ashe
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Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.
Arthur Ashe
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My humanity, in common with all of God's children, gives the greatest flight to my full range of my possibilities.
Arthur Ashe
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I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.
Arthur Ashe
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Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.
Arthur Ashe
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There is a syndrome in sports called 'paralysis by analysis.'
Arthur Ashe
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Later, I discovered there was a lot of work to being good in tennis.
Arthur Ashe
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In America you're conditioned to regard everything as a contest. You have to make the Ten Best Dressed List, win this, win that. It drives me nuts sometimes. Who cares, for Christ's sake?
Arthur Ashe
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Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner.
Arthur Ashe
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I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.
Arthur Ashe