It is often assumed that great success in youth will translate into the same success in later years. Though I couldn’t help noticing that Gael Monfils won 3 junior slam titles in a row yet at senior level the closest he has come to winning one is reaching the semi finals of Roland Garros. Huge success at junior level had no effect on …
Margins
How well you play has a lot to do with how well you stay within your own margins and how well you push your opponent beyond theirs. they idea is that with any shot there is a way you can play it reliably. That is your comfortable level. As you increase the difficulty through adding power, aiming to tougher targets, …
Want to win: Pick your battles
Sport reflects the competition inherent in life and picking your battles is the lesson we learn from watching Tennis. From Stanislas Wawrinkas recent success at the Australian Open to Novak Djokovics dominance over Rafael Nadal, through to Rafaels and Roger Federers ongoing rivalry. Each of these battles has been a series of campaigns with each combatant having periods of dominance …
Strategy: Did you lose or were you beaten
All top competitors hate to lose but they can accept being beaten. That’s how I see the general reaction from players like Serena, Federer, Rafa and others. If they feel they could have played better and might have won they are annoyed with themselves because they let themselves lose. If however they gave everything. That’s the best they could have …
Relaxing under pressure: Trust
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on trust. Do you believe in yourself under pressure? If you don’t it will show, both to you and your opponent. Trust in yourself will intimidate your opponent and keep them caged, holding them back. They will fear your response and thus check themselves. My ability to …
Relaxing under pressure: Accuracy
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on accuracy. I’ve been working through an online course on Tai Chi. It’s fantastic because it puts into simple words the concepts I am trying to bring to my game. At the moment it is about “finding neutral”. That means simply resetting my posture, stance and mindset …
Relaxing under pressure: Consistency
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on consistency. Last year I tried too hard which led to injuries, first in my wrist then foot. I have since learnt that better technique and recovery would have avoided it all. So that’s what I’ve been doing. The problem has then become a lack of play. …
Relaxing under pressure
It’s just as important to build your mind as it is your technical skills and your body. A common trait in high level players is to be relaxed under pressure. This is something they work on. The purpose here is to develop your rally ball. That is your ability to return any shot well without going for anything. It’s where …