I was a different kind of player as a kid and didn't do too much shouting and screaming. If things didn't go my way, I tended to get a bit overwhelmed. All I wanted to do was cry on my mom's shoulder. I didn't know how to handle defeat in front of a crowd, and I didn't want to be the loser.
But these guys learn so fast now, they sort of soak up the information, they're fearless. Those are the guys who learn from their mistakes and come back strong the next time.
There's something deeply satisfying when it succeeds, but I'm not going to do another book just to put my name on something and make some money if it's not something I deeply care about.
It's ironic - people used to want to suspend me and talk about how bad my behaviour was, but now they like it when I shout and scream.
I don't really know why I started playing as a kid, but I grew up in Queens, New York, not too far from Forest Hills, where they played the U.S. Open in those days. I even got to be a ball boy there. Also, there was a tennis court just a block away from our house, and I'd hang out down there.
I got a lot of publicity, but it steamrolled. Event organizers weren't used to that kind of behavior, so later, they tightened the rules.
To be involved in a senior tournament back in the States is very satisfying.
The perception is I didn't get along with umpires, obviously, and I didn't, on the court. But off the court, we had a good vibe.
Tennis was a white, upper-class sport, and I wanted it to be treated like other sports were.
I didn't serve and volley until I got to Wimbledon in '77.
The only thing 'championship' about Wimbledon is its prestige.
I remember when I was younger taking more pride in Wimbledon than the French. That and the U.S. Open - they were the ones I wanted to win.
Well I think that's probably one of a few, where I grew up in the City of New York, it's got a lot of energy, my parents are Irish-American so there was a bit of yelling going on in my house but it seemed normal.
Believe it or not, I was a pretty shy youngster growing up.