Andre Agassi
You don't cheat anybody out of their experience, whatever it is.Collection: Experience
First of all, let me say, 1:15 in the morning, for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. That's awesome. I don't know if I've ever felt so good here before.Collection: Morning
What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.
If you don't practice you don't deserve to win.
Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work. I had to put in the time to get back. And it was a grind. It meant training and sweating every day. But I was completely committed to working out to prove to myself that I still could do it.
I question myself every day. That's what I still find motivating about this. I don't have the answers, I don't pretend that I do just because I won the match. Just keep fighting and maybe something good happens.
But, I would say when I was four years old and I was at the Alan King Tennis Tournament and I was hitting with all the pros that would come to town. They would get me on the court or take notice and that stayed with me.
Being number two sucks.
I had moments of my actions and words not reflecting who it is I am - if that defines a punk, then yes, absolutely.
I'm going to go down swinging... I'm sure as heck not going to go home and say I had a bad tournament.
Well, I actually tell my son that I don't have any hair because he asked me the same question that I gave it to him when he was born, so he actually still believes that. He's five years old.
I've been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. There still is plenty out there to get motivated by.
Some moments it feels longer, other moments it feels like it's flown by; you can't believe you've done it all that time... Overall, you have a strong sense for the full spectrum that you've sort of traveled.
It has meant a lot to me to challenge the best players in the world and to beat them. And it means a lot to me to be out here and fighting for the title and, you know, it hurts not to win it.
I got a hundred bucks says my baby beats Pete's baby. I just think genetics are in my favour.
I feel old when I see mousse in my opponent's hair.
I've been criticized for not having perspective in the past and I thought that of myself many times but not there.
Well, you know, I've bonded with a lot of people over the years, you know. We played the same tournaments year after year and we go back to the same place and many times the seats have been full and that has meant the world to me for sure.
I'm going to have to pick my shots and play great tennis.
Sometimes it's just harder to remind yourself about what you're doing and why you're doing it... Other times, you have a great desire for it, but physically you're not responding the way you want. That presents other challenges. Then sometimes it all comes together.
I think one of the greatest joys I have now in my career and in my profession is to be playing at an age where I can appreciate it more than I used to... It's a whole different lens you look through the older you get.
My father actually moved out from Chicago just so he could play tennis 365 days a year, so it was - it was a place we played every day. We played before school. We played after school. We woke up. We played tennis. We brushed our teeth in that order.
You know my dad pushed me to believe that I was going to be the best. I just never thought of life without tennis, even looking forward.
Tennis was always sort of a - a learning. It was a vehicle for me to discover a lot about myself. And the things that I sort of discovered at times I not only didn't want to see it for myself but I certainly didn't want millions of people to see it.
I had my moments for sure but I wasn't confrontational. And sometimes you get on the court and you'd find yourself very confrontational. It was all a discovery.
Yes, for a long time but I admired her and respected everything that I could sort of see in her from a distance, the pillars of her life, the loyalties, the relationships. It all got my interest and also the looks.
It means a lot to you, to be out there. The highs are pretty high, and the lows are pretty low. You know, it's easy to feel like you let the team down. I mean, at the end of the day we still got to figure out a way to get through the tie.
All the good stuff is on the other side of tired.Collection: Tired
It's easier to live with disappointment than regret.Collection: Disappointment
Tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love - the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.Collection: Tennis
It's no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. Even the structure of tennis, the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls, mimics the structure of our days. Points become games become sets become tournaments, and it's all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point. It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours, and any hour can be our finest. Or darkest. It's our choice.Collection: Thinking
Success doesn't always come in the form of a trophy. Keep striving for success.Collection: Trophies
Remember this. Hold on to this. This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others. This is the only thing we can do that has any lasting meaning. This is why we're here. To make each other feel safe.Collection: Motivational
I can live with losing, I can't live without taking my chance.Collection: Losing
Nothing can substitute for just plain hard workCollection: Hard Work
Life will throw everything but the kitchen sink in your path, and then it will throw the kitchen sink. It's your job to avoid the obstacles. If you let them stop you or distract you, you're not doing your job, and failing to do your job will cause regrets that paralyze you more than a bad back.Collection: Life
If I've learned nothing else, it's that time and practice equal achievement.Collection: Inspirational
A strong body listens. It obeys. A weak body commands. If your body is weak it tells you what to do. If your body is strong it'll actually listen to you when you tell it to do something. If you build it right you can overcome some of the obstacles of age and recovery.Collection: Strong
A great coach can lead you to a place where you don't need him any more.Collection: Needs
Freed from the thoughts of winning, I instantly play better. I stop thinking, start feeling. My shots become a half-second quicker, my decisions become the product of instinct rather than logic.Collection: Winning
What you feel doesn’t matter in the end; it’s what you do that makes you brave.Collection: Inspirational Sports
I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have.Collection: Hate
The great part about tennis is you can't run out the clock.... As long as we were still playing, I had a chance.Collection: Running
You've got to believe you can win. But I believe respect for the fact that you can lose is what you always have to keep in mind so that nothing suprises you.Collection: Believe
The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments, and I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you.Collection: Thank You
If I don't do what I need to do to win, I won't win, no matter who is on the other side of the net.Collection: Sports
Tennis was always sort of a - a learning. It was a vehicle for me to discover a lot about myself.Collection: Tennis
This is the only perfection there is, the perfection of helping others.Collection: Helping Others
You have to have the mentality of executing your game when you don't feel like there's a lot of hope. I think the best feeling is when somebody pushes you to the limit and you dig down a little bit extra. By the same token, you also need a little luck. Sometimes they come together.Collection: Motivational
I suppose you could never say never, but my experience would tell me that the most successful players in the world are gonna come from an environment that is more competitive at an early age.Collection: Successful