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You Can Quote Me On That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights And Zingers

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This is one great book! Paul Fein's You Can Quote Me On That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights And Zingers is one of the most unique tennis books ever published. Why? It's virtually the tennis Smithsonian of insights into the minds of players, coaches, officials, the media, administrators, the intelligencia and others from the world of tennis.

Want to know what your favorite tennis star is thinking about on and off the court? It's here. Want to know what the media think about the players? Check it out. Want to know what the tennis world is talking about? Read on.

I was really excited to get my copy because as Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association (IMGCA), I am always searching for new quotes on sports psychology that I can put in our members articles, training programs and our IMGCA Certification programs.

This book is loaded with 1700 quotes ranging over 35 chapters from tennis stars, legends, champions, celebrities, also-rans and the rest of the world's tennis denizens.

Try finding all these quotes yourself, from the hundreds of sources that Paul used in constructing this masterpiece. You would have to work for years to capture all the wonderful tennis quotes in this compendium. Come to think of it, that's probably exactly what Paul did in writing this book!

You Can Quote Me On That is the perfect gift for the tennis lovers in your life.

Paul's books never disappoint! The inside information, entertaining anecdotes and insights which his books provide make them a must read for every tennis fan and player. His books make a great gift for every tennis lover.

I have read many of Paul Fein's tennis articles and read his last book, "Tennis Confidential." Paul is an excellent writer who puts a lot of effort in everything he writes. His latest book "You Can Quote Me On That," relates the history of tennis, including today's game. I love quotes of all kinds so, of course, I was interested in this book. It is funny, interesting, and very informative. This is a great book and a great read for anyone...not just tennis fans.

Joy Parker
President-Samprasfanz.org

Forget Serena, Roddick and Roger. Paul Fein is this year's star of the tennis world with his fabulous new book "You Can quote Me on That."

The most comprehensive and compelling collection of quotes the tennis world has ever seen, this book is not just a series of witty one-liners.

Fein's book contains 1700 quotes from tennis legends (ranging from Bill Tilden up through Serena Williams) celebrities, philosophers and even a president or two.

Readers will have a great time as they move from page to page and uncover the hidden treasures that not only entertain but also inform and enlighten.

This book is a must-read for tennis lovers as well as those that understand that there is much to be learned about the game of life through the world of sports.

You Can Quote Me On That is a book that can be enjoyed over and over again as you can never be quite sure when a particular quote will touch you in a certain way or teach you something about yourself. Buy this book for yourself and your friends, and you'll be enjoying it and talking about it for months to come.

You Can Quote me on That by Paul Fein is loaded with entertaining quotes from all the great tennis players, many of their coaches, their families, and even other celebrities. From the Foreword by Billie Jean King in which she states " No one and nothing is spared", to the 35 chapters dealing with various topics such as #6.-The Fame Game, and #15. - You've Come A Long Way, Baby!, I was hooked. The quotes are quick and easy to read, with remarkable documentation of who said what to whom and when. I especially liked the nasty comments between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl--i.e. "I've got more talent in my pinkie than Lendl has in his whole body."--John McEnroe.(so politically incorrect these days!). Arthur Ashe's 1970 quote that "Women's tennis won't draw flies.", couldn't have been more wrong, surprisingly coming from one of the greatest endorsers of the game. But my favorite quote, coming from Martina Hingis is "I like everything about tennis; the games, the courts, the competition, and doing everything you can to win. It's such a beautiful sport." Anyone who enjoys playing tennis, watching tennis, or hearing about the good and bad boys and girls of tennis will truly enjoy this book.

YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT!

This is a masterpiece of work by Paul Fein! If like me you are a diehard tennis fan then this is the book for you! Some of the quotes in this book will make you laugh out loud, some will make you think, some make you feel a little anger too and some just give an insight into the minds of some of the most complex of characters! You get to read just how competitive some of the great tennis stars were & also how some of the competitors took their rivalries with other players to the press rooms causing on going feuds...but all this makes for amusing reading!

Let me give just a taster of some of the quotes:

"I don't think I could ever be that phoney." John McEnroe, on the nice-guy image Jimmy Connors cultivated late in his career.

" Nobody should be ranked No.1 who looks like he just swung from a tree." Andre Agassi's cheap shot at Pete Sampras, for which he later apologised (1993)

"Ten Grand Slams." Pete Sampras's reply when asked what is the difference between him and Patrick Rafter, ranked No.2 (1997)

"I think both of our worst nightmares would be to wake up the next morning and be the other." Andre Agassi, on being polar opposites with archrival Pete Sampras (2002)

If you want to read more than I strongly suggest you buy a copy of this fantastic book!

Written by Georgia Christoforou, United Kingdom

In the foreword, Billie Jean King writes, "You Can Quote Me on That" contains hundreds of funny, informative, and provocative quotes by and about present and past stars on 35 different topics. No one and nothing is spared." I agree completely! I'm a big tennis fan, and I had never heard or read 80 percent of these quotes before.
For example in "The Fame Game" chapter, I loved Patrick Rafter's quote on the paradox of fame -- "When you haven't got it, you really want it; when you have it, you really don't want it." In "The Ego Has Landed" chapter, the late Vitas Gerulaitis, a legendary playboy, bragged, "If I did as well on the court as I do off the court, I'd be No. 1 by now." Talk about bad predictions. After 17-year-old Chrissie Evert reached the 1972 U.S. Open semifinals, Billie Jean King criticized her two-handed backhand, saying "It shouldn't be taught to kids. The trouble with it is that it establishes a weakness." Hey, tell that to Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Monica Seles and Andre Agassi.
This is definitely a fascinating book. Get it for yourself and your tennis friends. They'll really appreciate it.

This book is not only fun to read but extremely informative on many aspects of tennis. It gives the reader some background history of the game from those who played it in long trousers - or worse, long skirts! - and a fascinating insight into how it has changed over the years, through new styles in racquets, grips, strokes, attire - and behaviour! Whether you dip into it, or find, as I did, that once you start you want to read the whole book straight off, I'm sure you'll discover things you didn't know before about the game, its greatest exponents and most controversial characters.
The quotes vary from amusing to outrageous, controversial and thought-provoking. These are two of my favourites:

"The English have always liked good losers rather than winners... One can imagine the impact Perry had on Britain of the '30s, for he was the first Englishman to see tennis as a battle rather than a game." Tennis historian Ted Tinling.
Sixty years after Fred Perry's Wimbledon wins, does that make you feel sorry for Tim Henman?

"Tracy, I want you to know that I'm going to be much more famous than you." Pete Sampras, aged 10, to Tracey Austen after she had won her 2nd US Open title in 1981.
So he wasn't always modest and unassuming. What a prescient little boy!

This is not only a great read but a quality product, with some fine illustrations and an invaluably detailed index. If you enjoy tennis you're bound to enjoy this book, so treat yourself or surprise someone as a gift.

Paul Fein's "You Can Quote Me On That" isn't a classic page-turner, full of mystery, plot and intrigue. It's just what it sounds like--a collection of quotes about tennis.

Although it consists of 35 chapters, a necessity for organizing the vast material, I still found it difficult to stop when reaching a chapter's conclusion.

Under the chapter entitled "The Feminine Mystique" for example, Fein ends with a quote from Anna Kournikova saying:

"You cannot just be a great tennis player, or just be a beautiful person anymore to succeed in the game. You have to have it all, the talent, the looks, the brains and the drive."

The next chapter, "Paeans To the Champions", starts with this praise for Pete Sampras from Jim Courier:

"He can hit shots the rest of us can't hit and don't even think of hitting."

And then continues as Becker, Agassi, McEnroe and Emerson assess Pete's standing in the tennis pantheon.

What makes the book more than a sum of its considerable parts is the sense of history that pervades it. Nineteen twenties star Bill Tilden, who wrote several books on tennis, is quoted regularly, and we hear from Jack Kramer on early professional men's tennis, Bille Jean King on the struggles of the women's tour, Arthur Ashe on the class and race barriers, Martina Navratilova on sexual orientation. Not to mention Gussie Moran's panties and Suzanne Lenglen's rock star status in the 20s.

It?s a whirlwind tour of tennis history in doses as small or large as you like and it's also a reminder that the more tennis changes, the more it stays the same.

I'll close with two of my favorite quotes:

"Under these absurd and antiquated amateur rules, only a wealthy person can compete, and the fact of the matter is that only wealthy people do compete. Is that fair? Does it advance the sport? Does it makes tennis more popular? or does it tend to suppress and hinder an enormous amount of tennis talent lying dormant in the bodies of young men and women whose names are not in the social register."

and

"Certainly there does not appear to be anything much wrong with the game of tennis itself, although proposals for changing it always are with us. There has been little change since the rules were settled upon and possibly improvement can be had by changing some rules, but a game so stylized as tennis should be treated with great restraint. One of the things wrong may be that so many people keep trying to alter it to suit other people who do not really play it."

The first quote is from Suzanne Lenglen, circa 1920s; the second from Al Laney in 1968.

- Ever wondered what many of Tennis Great Players actually talk like? Well, after reading this book, you'll know it all.

It's the type of book that at first you may underestimate. However, after the quick flicking through pages turns into real reading and the ndoubtably memorizing of quotes, you understand that you are having fun while gaining insight as to the minds of Tennis Champions from the present and the past.

Enjoy! But be prepared: You will be spending more time reading and re-reading this book than you ever expected.