Mind
Training for Tennis -
Tip 13
Win
Matches Through Your Attitude
http://www.tennispsychology.com / Email
this page
Tennis
is the ultimate mind game. Two
players can be neck-and-neck until
the first set tiebreaker - yet whoever
wins it will most often run out an
easy second set, 6-1!
You
see this score so often in
the pro game, and I'm sure you see
it in your own tournaments too.
So
what's the different between the two
players after the first set?
Purely mental attitude. Doubt creeps
into one player's mind (and game) while confidence sweeps
through the other - and these thoughts
are the difference between almost every
winner and loser.
As
soon as doubt creeps into your game,
it's basically all over - you must refuse
to let doubt enter your mind during
a match. Even small worries and irritations
(eg. a bad line call), if dwelled upon,
can become a tidal wave of doubt that
renders your game powerless.
This
reinforces the fact that matches
are decided by a very fine line of
confidence, and also doubt. Australian
Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald
said recently "You have
no idea how close a player is to losing the
match when they have match point".
Close
to losing a match when you have match
point? How
can that be?
Well,
when you think about it - this is quite
true. If you are playing a tough match,
and you finally reach your first
match point, it certainly doesn't mean
that you are overflowing with
confidence, right? (and certainly not
on the second, third, fourth or
fifth match point either, for that
matter!).
So
remember this whenever you are down
in a match (or even down match point)
- the match is not over. You
can still easily turn an entire match
around - even just by winning two or
three points in a row, you can change
the momentum of a match.
So
it makes sense that if your opponent
can be close to losing at
match point, then the flip-side of
this means that you can actually
be close to winning - when
you are nowhere near match
point!
Basically
this tip is designed to illustrate
to you that matches are actually decided
by your thoughts, not shots - thoughts of confidence, and thoughts
of doubt.
If you can manage to
keep your thoughts free of doubt, it
means that you are giving yourself
the best possible chance to win the
match (even from way behind in the
third set), and it also allows your opponent to
be the one who experiences the doubt
instead.
You
might be surprised just how fragile your
opponent's confidence-levels truly
are - yes, even if they are leading the
match. All it takes is a very
slight shift of
momentum, and the entire match can
swing around the other way. They
have no idea when or if you
will stage burst of great
tennis, and so this means they will never
feel 100% secure until they have
shaken hands and are off the court.
So
if you are a player who absolutely
refuses to ever give up - regardless of
the score, and if you are willing to hang
in there for an eternity - you
will be rewarded with a bunch of match
victories that you never expected.
With
some particular types of opponents,
all of their confidence is purely displayed
on the outside - and they have
very little confidence on the inside,
where it really counts. These are the
players who may try and intimidate
you with their game or even their behavior
- before the match, during the hitup,
and in the early stages of the match.
With
players like this, it actually doesn't
matter if you cannot get the
early break against them - often all
you have to do is stay with them (by
continuing to hold serve) and make
sure they do not get too far ahead (as these players are often great front-runners).
If
you can manage to do this, and stay
with them (score-wise) - finally,
when crunch-time arrives (eg. 5 all,
or 6 all), the doubts will most often
hit them - and sure enough, these
players often crumple like a pack
of cards. And when it happens,
it's not pretty - they'll make a
bunch of errors, double-faults etc
- and as soon as their racquet begins
to fly, you know you have them!
So
remind yourself that your attitude is
one of your most potent secret weapons, not
just your game. Your attitude
can win you a ton of matches that you
never expected to win - yes, even against better players
who are superior shotmakers. So keep
your confidence strong, refuse to let
the doubts in, and watch the victories
roll in!
"The
Mind controls the body, and the
Mind is Unlimited"
