Mind
Training for Tennis
- Tip 20
The
Rise of Rafael Nadal - And What You Can Learn From Him
http://www.tennispsychology.com
There
are many new aspects you can bring into your game from watching
Rafael Nadal who, by the beginning of 2009, finally became
more than just the world's best claycourter of the past decade
- he was ranked no.1 and was holder of 3 of the four majors.
(Note: Federer has since bounced back and taken back
his No.1 title in 2009).
First
of all, a great deal of his success has to do with Nadal's
unquenchable, and unquestioning, belief in himself when
playing against any player, on any court, at any time. Nadal
backs himself to win, every single time.
Even
when the pressure is truly on, such as when defending his claycourt
titles against other highly ranked players such as
Novak Djokovic, Nadal remained rock solid mentally and physically.
Now,
much like Federer during his unbeatable years of 2002-2007, he
is now building up a powerful level of mental intimidation
within his opponents, even
before they walk out onto court against him - and that is worth
its weight in gold. Jjust as with Federer before him, opponents
were beginning to walk out onto court, feeling already
beaten, even before they started.
This
invincibility has since been taken away somewhat, with Nadal's
injuries causing him to lose confidence and vital matchplay.
Nadal
uses enormously powerful and intimidating body language on
court, which displays the truly relentless warrior he
is on court, and exudes the hunger and determination he possesses
to see out the match and secure another win.
He
gives the impression that he is a tennis 'machine', who will
simply never quit - and who seems to
be quite capable of staying out there for 7 hours if he has
to, to secure his victory.
This
helps to create massive mental pressure and intimidation which
slowly but surely wears down his opponent's game, morale, and
their willingness to fight - alongside with his relentess topspin
groundstrokes.
Nadal
shows all the positive aspects of on-court
body language - walking quickly between
points and to his chair, keeping his head and shoulders up
(never slumped), keeping his external frustration to a minimum,
and celebrating his great shots with fist pumps and positive
actions.
While
those playing club, competition or tournament tennis may not
feel as comfortable being as openly tigerish in their on-court
approach as Nadal, you can still manage to have a toned-down
version of positive body language on court, which:
a) strengthens your own mental state during the match,
and
b) wears down your opponent's morale and willingness to fight
Additionally
to Nadal's credit, he has not simply stayed with a tried-and-trusted
winning formula - has also shown his willingness
to experiment, and further develop his game - by playing
the occasional doubles event to help work on his net game, and
unveiling an even more ferocious version of his backhand groundstroke
last year.
This
complete willingness to constantly seek further improvement
is certainly an aspect every competive player must have, in order
to keep developing and realize your full potential.
Last
of all, Nadal sets his own personal mental and physical match
rhythm during
his matches - and this is something you need to personally discover
for yourself. This
involves both the time that goes into your preparation before the
match begins, and also the rhythm and pace you move at, in between
points and also when getting ready to serve and receive.
Nadal
walks onto court and takes his time setting everything up by
his chair that he needs, regardless of whether the other player
and umpire are waiting for him on the court. He moves quickly
in between points, but then very much takes his time to set himself
up to serve, or to receive.
This
is Nadal's personal and familiar match rhythm which he employs
during every single match he ever plays. It helps
him to feel settled mentally, and it also helps him to impose
his match rhythm upon his opponent, and get his opponent to
begin subconsciously playing the match to Nadal's preferred
rhythm.
So
now you know some of Nadal's mental weapons, go out on court
and begin to assimilate some of them into your own game. Some
of their advantages may seem very subtle, but they are very powerful.
You
only need to gain the slightest edge during
a close match, before the chinks in your opponent's armor may
slowly begin to present themselves - and then you can begin
to slowly but surely gain the ascendancy, and finish the match
totally dominating it - just as Nadal does.
