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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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Arthur Ashe
Age: 49 †
Born: 1943
Born: July 10
Died: 1993
Died: February 6
Military Officer
Tennis Player
Richmond
Virginia
Arthur Robert Ashe
Jr.
Make
Regard
Drives
Winning
Nuts
Christ
Cares
America
List
Care
Lists
Conditioned
Best
Tennis
Contest
Everything
Ten
Contests
Sometimes
Sake
Dressed

More quotes by Arthur Ashe

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Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.
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I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.
Arthur Ashe
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You come to realize that life is short, and you have to step up. Don't feel sorry for me. Much is expected of those who are strong.
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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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We must believe in the power of education. We must respect just laws. We must love ourselves, our old and or young, our women as well as our men.
Arthur Ashe
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The best way to judge a life is to ask yourself, Did I make the best use of the time I had?
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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If one's reputation is a possession, then of all my possessions, my reputation means most to me.
Arthur Ashe
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If you're paid before you walk on the court, what's the point in playing as if your life depended on it?
Arthur Ashe
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When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay you.
Arthur Ashe
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You really are never playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.
Arthur Ashe
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A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.
Arthur Ashe
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I know I could never forgive myself if I elected to live without humane purpose, without trying to help the poor and unfortunate, without recognizing that perhaps the purest joy in life comes with trying to help others.
Arthur Ashe
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The world over - 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?'. And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?'
Arthur Ashe
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Seven out of 10 black faces you see on television are athletes. The black athlete carries the image of the black community. He carries the cross, in a way, until blacks make inroads in other dimensions.
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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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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I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments. That's no contribution to society. [Tennis] was purely selfish that was for me.
Arthur Ashe
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A couple of times a day I sit quietly and visualize my body fighting the AIDS virus. It's the same as me sitting and seeing myself hit the perfect serve. I did that often when I was an athlete.
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.
Arthur Ashe