From 143rd Street in Harlem to the center court at Wimbledon is about as far as one can travel.

I always wanted to be somebody...If I've made it, it's half because I was game to take a wicked amount of punishment along the way, and half because there were an awful lot of people who cared enough to help me.

I don't consciously beat the drums for any cause, not even the negro in the United States.

I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country.

Most of us who aspire to be tops in our fields don't really consider the amount of work required to stay tops.

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.

In sports, you simply aren't considered a real champion until you have defended your title successfully. Winning it once can be a fluke; winning it twice proves you are the best.