Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Make His Age Just a Number

March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Make His Age Just a Number. Wikimedia by ForsterFoto

When Roger Federer turned 30 years of age last August his tennis game seemed to be slowing down and the talk was that maybe he was going to retire. But Federer uses mind tennis to make his age just a number. After he turned 30, one of Federer’s best winning runs began. It up to 15 winning matches in a row at this point, and his mental confidence seems to be at an almost all-time high.

Negative talk and banter can affect an athlete’s mental state, his state of mind. Our state of mind is important in all areas of life, not just tennis or other sports. Our mental state and level of mental confidence affect our relationships at home, school, or work. They are also very important in determining our success in life.

Have you ever wondered why so many successful athletes are also successful in careers after sports? I’ve notice that many retired NBA and NFL players have very successful careers after sports. We may not have the opportunity to play sports at a professional level, but we can still use the principles of the mental game, mind tennis in our daily lives to greatly increase our chances of success in anything we want to tackle.

The indiatimes.com in reporting on Roger Federer’s unconcern about his age had this to say:

Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Make His Age Just a Number

Swiss superstar Roger Federer is setting his sights on more Grand Slams, after winning his third-straight tournament on Sunday in Indian Wells.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner had to fight off a cold and a strong field to capture his fourth Indian Wells title.

That last sentence is just another example of using the principles of mind tennis to stay in a winning mental state. Other players did not do as well as Federer, but Roger fought back hard enough to come out a winner. When you are not feeling good physically, it is harder to feel good mentally. But Roger did it and he came out the winner.

Federer has won 15 straight matches, three consecutive tournaments and six of his last eight. His last lost this year was to Isner in Davis Cup in February but he avenged that by beating 11th seeded American on Sunday.

“It’s nice taking it all the way and getting the victories,” he said. “I was just extremely proud of my performance.” [...]

Many people were starting to write Federer off last season when he turned 30 and his game dropped off a bit. Last year was the first time since 2002 that Federer did not win at least one Grand Slam title.

But age is just a number for Federer.

“Some people don’t understand how you can play tennis at 30 years old which is shocking to me because normally that’s still when you’re young enough to play some of your best tennis,” Federer said.

“I think I’m showing that since I turned 30 in August last year. That’s basically when my run began.

“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what people say.” Original here.

Read the last sentence above – “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what people say.” In real life, there will be many who are negative, who will try to pull you down to their level. Some of these people will even be in your family. They probably don’t know what they are doing, they are just trying to be helpful.

However, their negative comments can rob you of your dreams if you let them. Remember, Federer uses mind tennis to make his age just a number. You can make the negative comments you hear that are about you of no-effect. Just keep focused and persevere.

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Murray Is Still Up Mentally With Mind Tennis

March 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Murray Is Still Up Mentally With Mind Tennis. Wikimedia Commons by Charlie Cowins

From Murray’s comments after the Dubai Open is sounds as though the time he has spent with Ivan Lendl is paying off. Especially when you compare the start he has made in 2012 with the last couple of years. From what he said and how he expressed himself Murray is still up mentally with mind tennis.

Murray feels the next few months will be an important testing time for his mental tennis. Coming up are tournaments in the U. S. He will be playing in the PNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. In fact the tournament in Indian Wells started Saturday, March 3. The Sony Ericsson will begin March 21. A lot of eyes will be on Murray to see how he does.

Writing for the telegraph.co.uk about Murray’s performance at the Dubai Open, Simon Briggs poses the question, when is Murray going to do as well in a grand slam? Here’s what Simon had to say:

Murray Is Still Up Mentally With Mind Tennis

Nobody knows the answer, but what we can say is that he is continuing to work on his weaknesses. His start to 2012 probably represents his best start to any season, even if he has still fallen short of that ultimate goal.

“It’s not that often where guys beat top players on back-to-back days,” said Murray afterwards. “It’s not an easy thing to do. But overall it was a good week, perfect preparation for the stretch coming up in America.

“I worked on some things with Ivan Lendl before coming here [and have] just been trying to put them into the matches little by little. This week was a good start.”

Continuing, Murray had this to say regarding his playing in Dubai:

Murray was out, but he wasn’t down, because he remembers how bleak things had been in the early springtime of his last two seasons.

As he said afterwards: “I’m just happy with the week, because at this stage last year I was in a very different position, a different frame of mind.

“It’s a very important period for me, this one coming up,” he added, “because I struggled there [in Indian Wells and Miami] the last couple of years. I’m going to get over there early, get some good practice in.” And off he went, straight to the airport for a night flight to Los Angeles. Original here.

I think men’s professional tennis is exciting right now, with Murray, Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic right there close to the top, all vying for that top spot. It looks as though the time Murray spends with Lendl is beginning to pay off. I am sure there will be ups and downs as the 2012 season moves along, but for now Murray is still up mentally with mind tennis.

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Mental Tennis: Nadal Has Changed His Approach to Djokovic

February 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mental Tennis: Nadal Has Changed His Approach to Djokovic

In researching for this post, I was struck by the number of commentators who are writing about the new Nadal. Acutally it’s the old Nadal making his reappearance. It seems that in 2011 Nadal didn’t have as much fight when it came to playing Djokovic.  Since his loss to Djokovic in the Australian Open final, however, Nadal seems to have turned a corner in his on court relationship to Djokovic. It seems that in mental tennis, Nadal has changed his approach to Djokovic.

Take for instance an article from ESPN.com written by Howard Bryant explaining that it seemed like the match was lost with Nadal down four games to three and 0-40, about to go down 5-3 and likely lose the match in four uneventful sets, when it seemed that Nadal suddenly woke up, that his old fire returned and he showed that he could still beat Djokovic. It remains to be seen however, if Nadal can continue to control those mental demons when he meets Djokovic throughout 2012. Howard Bryant’s article can be found here.

Then there is an article by Bruce Jenkins writing on SI.com giving his opinion that Nadal gained a lot as a result of his loss to Djokovic. He feels that Nadal has the tools, physical skills, and the mental fortitude to beat Djokovic, which he did often prior to 2011.

Mental Tennis: Nadal Has Changed His Approach to Djokovic

“The truth is, Nadal did have enough to win this match. He did have the answers. He absorbed every blow from Djokovic, summoned that legendary resolve, and kept fighting. You won’t find him this week on the psychiatrist’s couch,”…. you will probably studying what he did wrong and what he can do to beat Djokovic next time.

One more commentary sharing the belief that the Australian Open final is a sort of watershed moment for Nadal; that he showed he has what it takes to beat Djokovic. Tim Joyce writing in RealClearSports.com feels that Nadal is not far from solving the Djokovic Puzzle, which solution has eluded him in 2011. Until 2011, Nadal beat Djokovic often, and predictions are that the rivalry between the two will ebb and flow with one being dominant for a time and then the other dominating for a time. In the history of tennis, there have been other rivalries of that sort.

But for now, know that in mental tennis, Nadal has changed his approach to Djokovic. To learn how you can put mind tennis to work for you click here.

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Loss of Mental Tennis and Physical Poise Cost Sharapova The Australian Open

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Loss of Mental Tennis and Physical Poise Cost Sharapova The Australian Open Wikimedia Commons by Machocarioca (crop), Andrew Huse (original) Wikimedia Commons by Machocarioca (crop), Andrew Huse (original)

As you all probably know by now, Maria Sharapova lost the Australian Open, and of course there are probably many opinions as to how that occured. But I think that in the final analysis it all boils down to the loss of mental tennis and physical poise cost Sharapova the Australian Open. After all if you can’t stand up mentally to an opponent’s game, your game just naturally falls apart; you can mount even less of a defense then you could if your mental game was intact.

Geoff MacDonald writing in the New York Times Tennis Blog gave his thoughts about the contest in a way I never thought of previously.

Loss of Mental Tennis and Physical Poise Cost Sharapova The Australian Open

Victoria Azarenka thoroughly outplayed Maria Sharapova in Saturday’s Australian Open final. The spirited Azarkena had superior hands, better footwork and near-perfect shot selection as she withstood Sharapova’s blistering pace with astonishing ease. How did Azarenka handle Sharapova’s big game? And why did Sharapova struggle when Azarenka attacked?

The answer lies in the different way each player receives the ball on contact. Azarenka hits with her hands and wrists supple and pliant; Sharapova hits with a stiffer point of contact. Azarenka’s flexible hands allow her to accelerate her racket at the approaching ball and create topspin. Sharapova, by contrast, hits a flatter ball that has less margin for error. When she can dictate to a lesser opponent, the Sharapova blitzkrieg is a sight to behold, but she struggles when faced with an opponent who can handle her power. Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final and Azarenka in the Australian final exposed the chief problem of Sharapova’s game: she lacks the tactical flexibility to adapt when she is losing.

The difference in their approaches to hitting a tennis ball was described by Bill Tilden in the first paragraph of his timeless classic, “Match Play and the Spin of the Ball.” Tilden begins the chapter with a subtitle, “The ball as a separate entity.”

He writes: “Most tennis players look upon the ball that is used as merely something to hit. It is not an individual, separate factor in their play, like their opponent. They use it as a means to an end. Let me suggest the ball for a moment as an individual. It is a third party in the match. Will this third party be on your side or against you? It is up to you.”

Azarenka broke down Sharapova’s game with her superior reception of the ball, allowing her to apply enough topspin to control it while maintaining pace and length. Sharapova seems to see the ball as an object to hit forcefully. Azarenka’s more resilient, creative approach to hitting the ball allows her more tactical options and gives her the ability to break down Sharapova’s one-dimensional power game.

Azarenka did hit 14 winners, but she won so easily by forcing errors from Sharapova. Again, Azarenka’s use of spin enabled her to hold her ground on the baseline and swing with fast racket head speed as she redirected Sharapova’s pace with enough topspin to control the ball. This overwhelmed Sharapova, as she rarely faces an opponent who can go from neutral to offense with one shot. She looked crestfallen as the errors mounted and a Grand Slam victory slipped way. Azarenka had broken down Sharapova’s powerful game.

In Tilden’s book, that is a player’s main aim in a match.

“I may sound unsporting when I claim that the primary object of tennis is to break up your opponent’s game,” he writes, “but it is my honest belief that no player is defeated until his game is crushed, or at least weakened. Nothing so upsets a player’s mental and physical poise as to be continually led into error.”

“It is with a view not only to your own stroke but to the effect on your opponent,” he continues, “that leads me to say, ‘Never make any stroke without imparting a conscious, deliberate and intentional spin to the ball.’ ”

Being able to have enough presence of mind to control the ball the way Bill Tilden describes in his book requires a lot of mental concentration. For some reason, loss of mental tennis and physical poise cost Sharapova the Australian Open. She lost control of the game. For the rest of the blog post click here. But if you want to learn techniques for maintaining mental control of your game, click here.

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Clijsters Uses Mental Toughness to Win

January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Clijsters Uses Mental Toughness to Win. Wikimedia Commons by Andrew Huse.

The Clijsters – Na match at the Australian Open was dramatic this year. When Na and Clijsters met at the 2011 Australian Open last year, Clijsters won that high-level match.

Ravi Ubha writing on ESPN.com says that after Clijsters injured her ankle in the seventh game, it seemed as though Na was bound to win. But Na blew some points and Clijsters used mental toughness to win and sail right past Na to go onto the quarter finals.

Clijsters Uses Mental Toughness to Win

Kim Clijsters’ duel with Li Na promised much. They played a high-level match in Sydney last year, then did the same in the Australian Open final a few weeks later. Clijsters won the more important of the two contests to finally end her non-U.S. Grand Slam drought.

Sunday’s encounter wasn’t as clean, but who cares? It was far more dramatic and kept the defending champion in the tournament. Clijsters saved four match points in a second-set tiebreaker and progressed to the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 win.

And here we thought there was a sense of inevitable — a Li victory — after Clijsters rolled her left ankle in the seventh game. Apart from squandering those match points, Li blew a break advantage in the second set….

Speaking of the inevitable, Clijsters cruised past a devastated Li in the third set — she took a 5-1 lead — to advance to the quarterfinals.

Don’t forget about: With all the tension late in the tiebreaker, it’s easy to forget about the third point. But it was pivotal. Li thought she won it with an ace, which would have given her a 3-0 lead. Clijsters correctly challenged, and Li double-faulted to make it 2-1.

All credit to Kimmy: Clijsters hasn’t always acquitted herself admirably with injuries. Think back to last season in Indian Wells against Marion Bartoli, when Clijsters retired with a shoulder injury; it looked to be a half-hearted effort before Clijsters called it a day. Clijsters, however, was intent on seeing this one through in the wake of retiring in Brisbane with a thigh problem. She willed herself on with multiple fist pumps. The adrenaline pumping, she hit all four of her aces in the third set.

What of the ankle?: Clijsters will be ultra-confident after the win and on a high. But her ankle is a concern. How will it feel Monday and Tuesday? Her next opponent is either Caroline Wozniacki or Jelena Jankovic, two players who’ll make the Belgian strike a lot of balls — more than Li.

Tough one to swallow for Li: Li had difficulty winning a match from Wimbledon onward in 2011. She admitted the pressure of being a Grand Slam champion affected her. Refreshed following a solid training block in Germany in the offseason, she began 2012 in impressive fashion, venturing to the Sydney final. This loss will set her back. Questions will be asked, again, about her mental toughness.

There you have it. Another example that mental toughness is important in the game of tennis. I am sure that Clijsters must be pumped up now after the win over Na. What about the matches she has coming? Only time will tell how Clijsters uses mental toughness to win her upcoming matches. You can read the entire article here.

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