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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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Arthur Ashe
Age: 49 †
Born: 1943
Born: July 10
Died: 1993
Died: February 6
Military Officer
Tennis Player
Richmond
Virginia
Arthur Robert Ashe
Jr.
Sometimes
Victory
Game
Insisting
Games
Victories
Point
Satisfying
Lost
Defeat
Beautiful
English
Certain
Matters
Matter
Played

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Later, I discovered there was a lot of work to being good in tennis.
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I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.
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There's no better stage than the U.S. Open for me
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I would like to flood South Africa with black personages of all sorts of persuasions: writers, educators, businessmen, you name it. If you are black and have any clout at all, I would like to see you go to South Africa and look for yourself and come back and try to use the tools that you have at your command to try and help the brothers down there.
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I strongly believe the black culture spends too much time, energy and effort raising, praising, and teasing our black children about the dubious glories of professional sports.
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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.
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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.
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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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There is a syndrome in sports called 'paralysis by analysis.'
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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.
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Life is like a tennis game. You can't win without serving.
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You really are never playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.
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I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.
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Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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?
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This is my career highlight. Getting to the fourth round in the U.S. Open in my first year in the U.S. Open and first year on the tour.
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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