Mind
Training for Tennis -
Tip 15
How
To Create Momentum In Matches
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Momentum
swings are amongst the most powerful
forces in the tournament tennis match
- and usually being the ultimate
decider of the winner of most matches.
So
today I am going to share a few very
simple ways to create your own momentum
in a match, without your
opponent even knowing - as well as
how to snatch it back when your opponent
has the match rhythm going all their
own way.
Momentum
changes become obvious when you analyze
match scores to see where some of the
major momentum swings were - eg. 1-6
7-6 6-1. Of
course, its much easier if
you happen to be the one riding the
wave of momentum in the match -
because when its against you, it can
be a tough one to turn around - but
unless you are someone like Roger Federer
who tends to win most of his matches
fairly easily, the key is to maximize your
own momentum while minimizing that
of your opponent.
So let's
look back at one of the former masters
of creating momentum, and also for taking
it away from an opponent - a
master tactician who was one of the
greatest players ever, winning
8 grand slam titles back in the 80's.
Possibly
he was even the first player
to make 'momentum swings' an art
form - and his name was Ivan Lendl. He
was the guy who stopped McEnroe's
supreme reign at the top of the game
- and even after losing their first
7 matches, he went on to win the
next 7, in a row. They
were the 'Federer and Nadal' of the
80's.
One
of the subtle but very powerful methods
Lendl used during his matches was this: Lendl
would slightly reduce the
amount of time between points whenever
he won a point, and slightly increase time
between points whenever he lost the
point (but he rarely did this
enough to ever be easily noticed, or
to incur a penalty point). So
what did this Lendl tactic do? Let's
analyze it from both player's points
of view.
Whenever
Lendl would win a point, he would briskly
move to the other side of the court
in readiness to start the next point
- and each time he did this,
it would reinforce within him the mindset,
feeling and emotion of winning a
lot of points in a short time.
This
is winning momentum. Meanwhile,
his opponent was losing a
lot of points in a very short time - feeling as though the set was slipping
away, right before his eyes, one point
after another. That, of course,
is losing momentum.
Lendl
may have initially exaggerated this
tactic a little too much at the beginning
of his career, as he was probably one
of the main reasons why the ATP brought
in the '30 second rule' between points.
But
even so, he used this
tactic of momentum change highly
effectively even within the
30 seconds, which goes to show that
we are not talking about dramatically stretching
out the time between lost points -
possibly just an extra 10 seconds
or so getting set up to serve or
receive. And
of course, reducing the
time by the same amount when you
have won a point.
It
sounds like an incredibly simple
method, but it has the eventual effect
of creating a strong feeling of momentum
within you, while at the same time,
increasing the feelings within your
opponent of a complete lack of
momentum (and this never
goes astray! ; )
Needless
to say, this is done most effectively
when it is done very subtly - because
making it obvious will alert them to
what is happening, and they may well
begin to use it back.
When
it's used properly, your opponent
does not even know that you are doing
it - which allows you to command the
rhythm of the match without them
even realizing.
This
is a tactic that you do not need
to use all the time either - you might
just choose to use it at select times
in the match, whenever the pressure
is on. Begin to
implement this into your tournament
play and see if it makes a difference
to the momentum in your matches.
