Mind
Training for Tennis Tip
8
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Playing Higher-Ranked Opponents
A
great many competition players
seem to experience their game freezing
up from nerves whenever they
play against higher-ranked opponents
- even if they've played brilliantly in
all their matches right up to
that particular one.
This
is simply a case of playing against the reputation of
the player, instead of competing against
the player themselves, and it can be very
difficult to overcome - and let's face
it, higher-ranked players can be difficult
enough to beat when you are playing well, let
alone when you can't get your game to work
properly!
However,
there are several things you can do for
this, both to prevent the problem
happening and also to overcome the intimidation
when it is already happening.
First
of all, before you go out there to play
- remind yourself that all the pressure
is on your opponent. They are the
player expected to win, not you - and
so they have much more to lose than
you do! All the pressure is on them,
and none is on you - this can only be
good!
This
means you actually have the freedom
to be able to play your own game and even
go for your shots, a luxury which they do
not always have the freedom to afford in
their situation. Always remind yourself
of this - the pressure they must
be going through of being the favorite.
Secondly,
often players overly build up the reputation
of their opponents in their minds,
believing they must play at their absolute
best to even have a remote chance of
winning. This usually causes overplaying or trying
too hard, and it is the quickest way
to get into the locker room without winning
a game!
So
never do this - remember to play within
yourself and don't go for 'super'
shots all the time, unless you feel able
to make them. You may even find that
your regular level of tennis is all
that is required for victory, not
to mention that your standard can often raise naturally when
playing against strong opponents anyway.
Also
remember that highly-ranked players are
often used to their opponents
being highly nervous, and so often
they are used to getting a quick
and early lead, and even winning their
matches very quickly and easily.
This
can be in your favor! This means that if
you can manage to stay with them and
hold your serve until say, 3 or 4-all,
they may well begin to get frustrated that
they have yet not won the first set - and
they may come up with some uncharacteristic
errors around this time.
Surprisingly
often, if you hang in there long
enough, you can find the set being handed to
you on a platter with some welcome
double faults or unforced errors.
Remind
yourself also that this opponent, regardless
of who they are, has lost a lot
of matches in the past, and will lose
matches in the future - so why not to
you, today? Let's face
it - upsets happen all the time in world-standard
tennis, so why not in this particular
event you are playing in, today? Go into
each match knowing you always have a
chance to win, regardless of who you
are playing against.
Last
but not least, if you find yourself overly intimidated
by your opponent, instantly reduce the
amount of eye contact you make with
them during the match, and do not look
at them between points, choosing to look
at your strings instead.
This helps reduce
the emotional impact of your opponent's
reputation, plus from the other end of
the court, it can appear (to your opponent)
that you seem unconcerned by them,
which can be unsettling even to top seeds
if they can see no sign of fear.
So
remember that against higher-ranked opponents,
you have nothing to lose and everything
to gain (and it's the oppose for your
opponent), plus remember to play within
yourself and also stay with them in
the early games of the first set.
And
last of all - the bigger they are, the
harder they fall! Go out there and show
them what you can do.
