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.

Filed Under: Mental Tennis, Mind Tennis, Roger Federer, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Isner Uses Mind Tennis to Topple Djokovic at Indian Wells

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Isner Uses Mind Tennis To Topple Djokovic At Indian Wells. WikimediaCommons. Emmett Hume

What a surprise for me to learn that John Isner beat Novak Djodovic in a semi-final match at Indian Wells on Saturday. Isner, up to that point had only been ranked at No. 11 in the world.  It looks like the momentum and mental confidence of his Davis Cup win over Federer in Switzerland has continued to propel Isner forward in his matches at the BNP Paribas Open. A big part of winning has to do with your mind, as Isner uses mind tennis to topple Djokovic at Indian Wells.

John Isner is big at 6 ft 9 in tall, and that can give him an advantage, in addition to his powerful serves, some as high as 144 mph. It looks as though Isner is getting a hold on his mental game and as a result, he is doing significantly better. Richard Evans, writing for foxsports.com noted that Isner is not to be “messed with from now on.”

It would be interesting to know what has been going on in Isner’s head these last few month’s. But I bet it has to do with a growing belief that he can beat the big names in men’s pro tennis.

Isner Uses Mind Tennis to Topple Djokovic at Indian Wells

John Isner exploded into the top 10 with a fantastic 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory Saturday over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, lighting up a cloudy day in Indian Wells, Calif., with a truly memorable performance at the BNP Paribas Open to reach his first ATP Masters Series final.

He’ll face Roger Federer, who beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday’s other semifinal. Sunday’s final will be a rematch of last month’s Davis Cup duel in Switzerland — won by Isner.

This time last year, Isner, the 6-foot-9 giant out of the University of Georgia was struggling for form and confidence. Even just a couple of weeks ago in Delray Beach, Fla., where he lost to Kevin Anderson, Isner was bemoaning the fact he had not brought the confidence boost of that Davis Cup victory over Federer back onto the tour with him. [...]

Isner agreed that the 5-4 game in the first set was critical. “It gave me momentum. The first set was really key. I knew I could win after that.”

Djokovic looked like his usual self in the second set, eliminating all the errors and taking it with ominously calm authority on one break. But Isner was not impressed. He continued to believe as he kept stepping up his ace count (it ended at 21, his highest count of the tournament) and answered the crisis of a break point against him in the seventh game with a delivery clocked at 143 mph, the fastest of the match. How’s that for cool? [...]

For Djokovic, it was all a matter of belief on Isner’s part.

“It’s a belief that you can be in the top 10,” Djokovic said. “In the match, he started believing when I played a poor game at 5-4 in the first set. He came up with some great groundstrokes, too. In the end, it could have gone either way, but I thought I played a good match.”

Isner’s attitude had been bullish from the start.

“Going in I knew I had to stay loose and go for my shots,” he said. “I knew I was going to make a lot of mistakes, but I also knew I was going to hit some winners. It was very special when the last ball went by him and I knew I had won the match. It was a weird feeling, a very nice feeling. It’s something you don’t experience every day. So I was trying to take it all in.” Original here.

Everyone has potential. How far that potential will carry them is dependent on their belief, their mental confidence. I am sure that Isner visualized that moment when the winning ball went past Djokovic. How far will Isner’s belief in himself and in his game carry him? We won’t have long to wait.

When Isner plays Roger Federer in the final’s match, we’ll get to see the next step unfold. But note, that Isner used mind tennis to topple Djokovic at Indian Wells.

Filed Under: Indian Wells, John Isner, mental confidence, Mind Tennis, Novak Djokovic Tagged With: , , , , ,

Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Win Dubai Open

March 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Win Dubai Open

What a turn of events at the Dubai Open this weekend! First of all Andy Murray of Britain beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and then Roger Federer uses mind tennis to win the Dubai Open.

On February 27, 2012, I wrote a post about Federer’s loss of confidence in himself and his game over the last year or so. Some commentators even had Federer over the hill with his game and his career waning. They were speculating when he was going to retire and what he was going to do with his time.

But, Federer said he had suffered some tough fought losses since losing the Australian Open, 2011. However, he doesn’t think he is losing his form. He says he hasn’t been doing well because of a lack of confidence on his part. He said that winning the three titles he has in the last four months has given him a lot of confidence. He said he doesn’t even regret not being able to break Pete Sampras record of being world No.1 for 286 weeks.

Well, his win in Dubai shows that he has his old form and his old confidence, at least for now. Richard Eaton and Michael Casey writing for smh.com.au report that this is Federer’s 72nd career tennis title.

Federer Uses Mind Tennis to Win Dubai Open

Roger Federer treasured the 72nd title of his career after completing a near-perfect week with a victory over Andy Murray in the Dubai Open final.

The 16-time grand slam champion was overjoyed with his 7-5 6-4 win over Murray, who was unable to back up his semi-final defeat of world No.1 Novak Djokovic.

“This is perfect. This is great. Any title is a good one, I’ll tell you that,” Federer said after adding a record fifth Dubai trophy to his collection.

“I have a losing record against Murray, I do believe, and not against Novak … I don’t want to say (beating Murray) means more to me but it’s a beautiful victory.

“It’s such a difficult tournament with so many top-10 players, and Andy having such a huge victory getting to the final.” [...]

In fact, 30-year-old [Federer] has now won five of his past seven tournaments on the ATP Tour, dating back to his indoor triumph at home in Basel last November. Original here.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for men’s professional tennis. Andy Murray now has Ivan Lendl to coach him in his tennis skills but in addition to help him develop his mind tennis game. And Federer is also on a run, having regained confidence in his game. I’m sure that Djokovic is not going to let his game slide, but is going to do all he can to keep his game going at its best. But the news for the day is that Federer uses mind tennis to win the Dubai Open.

Filed Under: Andy Murray, Dubai Open 2012, Ivan Lendl, mental confidence, Mental Tennis, Mind Tennis, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Djokovic’s Mind Tennis Creed: I Am The Hunter

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Djokovic's Mind Tennis Creed: I Am The Hunter. Wikimedia Commons by Eklektekuria

Djokovic’s Mind Tennis Creed is I Am The Hunter. Novak Djokovic has declared, “I don’t want to believe that I am the hunted one. I am the hunter.” When you hear a statement like that you have to ask yourself what kind of thinking, what kind of though patterns and experiences went into developing that kind of mental confidence, that kind of attitude about oneself? How did Novak get to that point in his thinking?

You have to consider that you can’t just plant yourself on top of the mountain, so to speak. You get there by practice, by hard work, by focus, by appropriate self-talk, and by more practice. Until you reach the goals you have set for yourself, you will have to dwell at a lower level.

One thing I like about the principles of mental tennis is that so much of it can apply to other areas of our lives, and benefit our live as a result. I think there is a lot we as individuals can learn, not only to improve our tennis game, but also to our lives as a whole.

Even though Djokovic is at the top of the tennis world, he realizes there is more to life than tennis and so he has cultivated interests in other areas beside tennis.

Robin Chatterjee writing in gulfnews.com has some interesting insight into what makes Novak Djokovic who he is. Below are some excerpts from that article.

Djokovic’s Mind Tennis Creed: I Am The Hunter

Djokovic and his family stayed indoors…, at their family home in Serbia, and waited for the Nato jets to finish unloading tonnes of explosives in and around Belgrade during daily sorties — at the height of the conflict in the 1990s. When there was a welcome, but troubled silence outside someone, usually his mother, or father queried, ‘Tennis anyone?” and then they stepped out to practice. They don’t teach you that at Harry Hopman, or Nick Bollettieri.

How can you win against someone who, after facing this kind of pressure in his formative years, has steeled his mind and body into believing that he has everything to win and nothing to lose. Who believes that his success is pre-ordained?

“I always had the highest goals,” said Djokovic, his hands still folded as though he was in confession. “I want to be the best in whatever I do. I wanted to win many Grand Slams, especially Wimbledon which was always in my dreams, and I achieved it in a year’s time. So I am grateful for this and I feel blessed that I had the opportunity and grabbed it when it was presented….

“I don’t want to believe that I am the hunted one. I am the hunter,” he declared. “That’s my attitude: to always be one of the players who is hunting for the trophy. I take every tournament as a new one and I refuse to allow it to be compared to the past ones. That’s the mindset that allows me to perform at my best. It allows me to play in the aggressive style that is characteristic of me. This way I never feel the pressure of defending a title.”

Being resolute for long periods is not always possible, especially for an ascending star. Djokovic constantly tries to fortify his mind by upgrading it with mental security systems that no opponent can penetrate. He becomes the Tour’s definition of Darth Vader revelling in walks on the dark side. Original here.

How does your mind set compare with the little we have learned about Novak’s? If you want to play better in tennis, or do better in any area of life, try to absorb some of the attitude toward yourself, toward your game, or whatever it is that you have goals to achieve. It will stand you in good stead to remember Djokovic’s mind tennis creed: I am the hunter.

Filed Under: mental confidence, mental strength, Mind Tennis, Novak Djokovic Tagged With: , , , , ,

Andy Murray Tests His Mind Tennis in Dubai

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Andy Murray Tests His Mind Tennis in Dubai. Wikimedia Commons by Yann Caradec

In my post of February 24, 2012 I noted that Andy Murray has gotten Ivan Lendl to coach him. Murray and Lendl only got together since the first of the year. I am wondering how it is going. Andy Murray Tests His Mind Tennis in Dubai as he beat Michael Berrer. The match however wasn’t a pushover for Murray, he struggled.

It is reported that Lendl will not be in Dubai this week – he is playing in Florida this week, so it remains to be seen how Murray does. Murray says that he has spending about 4 hours daily on the practice court.

Jo Carter, on espn.co.uk believes that Murray is one of the most gifted pro tennis players today, but his mental game has been failing him.

Andy Murray Tests His Mind Tennis in Dubai

Andy Murray makes his first appearance since the Australian Open this week, and he will have the opportunity to put theory into practice in Dubai after a month on the training courts.[...]

Having only linked up with Murray in the New Year, it was too late for Lendl, a former world No. 1 and eight-time grand slam champion, to work on the technical aspects of his new charge’s game before the first grand slam of the season.

While Lendl will not be in Murray’s box in Dubai this week – he is playing on the ATP Champions Tour in Florida this week, the Scot is likely to be showing the results of ten hard days on the practice courts.

“I was up at seven each morning and going to bed at 9:30 each night because I was so tired,” Murray said. “We did a lot of long, hard drills. I was spending about four hours on the court each day with various hitting partners.”

Technically, Murray is one of the most gifted players of his generation, but it has been his mental approach that has been found wanting. During his defeat to Djokovic in Melbourne the Brit showed signs of a calmer approach, and we can expect to see more of that in the coming weeks. Original here.

It will be interesting to see what effect the influence of Ivan Lendl has on Murray’s game. We are just beginning the 2012 tennis season and Murray will have all year to practice what he learns from Lendl. Part of the mental game of tennis is learning to put it into practice and focus on the game at hand. But for now,  Andy Murray can test his mind tennis in Dubai.

Filed Under: Andy Murray, Ivan Lendl, mental confidence, Mental Tennis, Mind Tennis Tagged With: , , , , ,

Loss of Mental Confidence Cost Federer Majors

February 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

Loss of Mental Confidence Cost Federer Majors

Loss of Mental Confidence Cost Federer Majors according to a report in nzherald.co.nz. The last time Roger Federer won a major tournament was the Australian Open in 2010. Prior to that Federer had won 16 Grand Slam titles placing him among the top players of all time.

Federer said he had suffered some tough fought losses since the Australian Open but he doesn’t think he is losing his form, says he hasn’t been doing well because of a lack of confidence on his part. He said that winning the three titles he has in the last four months has given him a lot of confidence. He said he doesn’t even regret not being able to break Pete Sampras record of being world No.1 for 286 weeks.

Right now Federer is in Dubai to play against world No. 1 Djokovic as well as 4th ranked Andy Roddick among others. Federer thinks that if he can play good until the U.S. Open then he might have a shot at that title too. Even if you are a tennis great, loss of mental confidence cost Federer majors. Original here.

Filed Under: inner game, mental confidence, Mental Tennis, Roger Federer Tagged With: , , , ,

Radwanska Won The Dubai Open Using Mental Tennis

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Radwanska Won The Dubai Open Using Mental Tennis. Wikimedia Commons by Charlie Cowins

Sunday, Radwanska won the Dubai Open using mental tennis. In my last post, I wrote about Jelena Jankovic and her renewed dedication to using mental tennis in her game. But she was beaten the next day in her match with Agnieszka Radwanska just as I was working on the post.

Radwanska made a statement regarding her match against Jelena by saying that she got into trouble in the second set and Jankovic won the set. Agnieszka goes on to say that in order to win the third and final set, she had to focus on her game and fight with determination.

In the finals of the Dubai Open she had to fight the ferocious forehand of Julia Goerges of Germany. Radwanska said that at times the ball went past her so fast she didn’t see it.  She said she had to remain calm and play her very best in order to win.

Reported in the dailystar.com Radwanska won the eighth title of her career when she won the Dubai Open. Her earnings are now over $1 million and she is expected to be ranked #5 in the world on Monday.

Radwanska Won The Dubai Open Using Mental Tennis

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska signalled herself as a growing threat Saturday when she clinched her eighth career title courtesy of a 7-5, 6-4 win over Germany’s Julia Goerges in the final of the Dubai Open.

The 22-year-old’s win underlined her as one of the game’s cleverest players, her subtle changes of pace and direction luring her more powerful opponent into self-destruction.

Goerges nevertheless did well enough, during a week in which she also beat former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, to suggest that her flat-hitting, net-attacking game may play a more prominent role in the future.

“I had to play my best to beat her,” said Radwanska, who has lost only to world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka this year. “She hits so well it is hard to see the ball.

“But I try to be calm, because, if you’re not, everything gets worse. I’m happy to have been playing great tennis at the start of this year. I just hope I can play this tennis the rest of the year,” she said.

The article goes on to include some comments from Goerges:

The closeness of that finish suggested Goerges is capable of improving on the career-best ranking of 16 which she will achieve next week, and perhaps of pushing into the top 10.

One of Goerges’ improvements is in her mind.

“When something didn’t go in the direction I wanted to, it really used to affect me mentally,” Goerges admitted. “Now I try to get out of it and take the challenge.” Original here.

A pro tennis player’s greatest tool for winning is their mind. The mind is the basis for all successful tennis performances. An athlete who understands the importance of their mind can overcome many obstacles while playing, just as Radwanska used mental tennis to win the Dubai Open over Goerges’ blazing forehand.

Filed Under: mental strength, Mental Tennis, Mind Tennis Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mental Toughness Is Needed to Make It Big In Women’s Tennis

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mental Toughness Is Needed to Make It Big In Women's Tennis. Wikimedia Commons by Charlie Cowins.jpg

Jelena Jankovic talking to reporters in a post-match conference in Dubai believes that mental toughness is needed to make it big in women’s tennis today. Other qualities that are needed beside mental toughness are skill, physical fitness, and a bit of luck.

Alaric Gomes reporting for gulfnews.com says that Jelena has been working to reinvigorate her tennis career in the last few months. Over the last couple of years she has been slipping in the rankings and has been working at a come-back. So far she hasn’t been plaqued by injury and has been staying quite healthy.

“Anything can happen nowadays in women’s tennis. You’ve got to have a combination of a few things — obviously skill, be physically fit, healthy, mentally tough, and have some luck here and there,” Jankovic told media at a post-match conference this week.

“And you need a strong belief, to believe you can do it no matter what and hang in there, especially during the tough moments.”…

“I have to improve on a lot of these aspects and I have a long way to go to be able to stay for those two weeks and really be focused and really be mentally triggered for those seven matches. It takes a lot out of you physically and mentally and it’s not easy to do,” she admitted.

“It’s not easy to do that. I think I would have won a lot of Grand Slams if it was only five matches. But seven? Two weeks sometimes are very difficult to stay there physically and mentally and win seven matches against great players.”…

“Anything is possible. Nowadays there is really not a dominant player that’s winning everything or that is always a favourite to win. So anything can happen. With strong belief, with hard work, I think I can achieve a lot of good things.” Original here.

Jankovic believes that the situation with women’s professional is in a state of flux. She believes that because there is not one dominant player at the moment that she may have a chance at winning a few tournaments, even at the age of 26. But she feels that mental toughness is needed to make it big in women’s tennis in addition to the skill, and the physical fitness.

In news just in, it is reported that Agnieszka Radwanska beat Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 in the first semifinal match. In speaking about the match with Jankovic, Radwanska said, that in the second set, Jankovic started seemed to get her game together and she played much better.  Radwanska said she was in trouble in the second set, but when playing the third set she had to focus on her game and fight with determination. Radwanska’s advancement to the Dubai Open Finals shows that mental toughness is needed to make it big in women’s tennis.

 

Filed Under: mental confidence, mental strength, Mental Tennis Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mental Tennis is Roger Federer’s Success Secret

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mental Tennis is Roger Federer's Success Secret.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to succeed so easily, and others never seem to be very successful? This last Sunday, Roger Federer won the Rotterdam Open, which surprised many. In the history of professional tennis Federer is the winning-est male tennis player. The last couple of years however have been sort of a roller coaster ride for him going from being the world #1 male tennis player to being ranked #3 or there abouts: winning some and losing some. So how does Federer make a comeback like the Rotterdam Open?  Mental Tennis is Roger Federer’s Success Secret.

ApekshaHa writing in 10sBalls.com believes the reason for his success is his persistence: he never gave up. In the little dictionary by my computer, the definition of persist is “continue in spite of obstacles or objections”. The Compact Oxford Thesaurus, also by my computer says that to persevere means to “hammer away”, “be tenacious”, “be resolute”, “be purposeful”.

These don’t necessarily sound like qualities of a tennis player, do they? Evidently they are of the successful ones. In the game of tennis as well as the game of life, we all meet with obstacles, disappointments, distractions, even failures. Roger Federer has had some of those in recent months, but he is continuing to persevere, to be tenacious, to be purposeful. As a result, he is continuing to raise the bar for those coming after him, who wish to be classed as one of the tennis greats in the history books. By winning more tournaments, he is setting an example for those who follow.

Mental Tennis is Roger Federer’s Success Secret

He is an experienced person who knows what he is capable of and what he can achieve. Even during those tough moments, he didn’t stop believing in himself . It’s very easy for all of us in life to blame our failures on destiny and not work hard enough to find out where the real problem lies.

In Federer’s own words: ["]I went through some tough moments as well where I was frustrated and I didn’t like it as much. But, I don’t know. I always stay positive. I’m a very positive person”

During the 6 week break after US Open 2011, Mirka (his wife) told him: “It’s O.K. to lose one or two matches very closely, but you can’t start losing more and more and more. Then maybe something’s wrong in your corner. So you just have to question yourself and check with the entire team, see what everybody thinks.’ Original here.

How about your life experience? Do you give up easily when faced with challenges? Do you get discouraged and quit? I have heard it said that the only true failure, is the failure to try again. If you quit when face with hard times, there is no way to get out of your circumstance. The only way to do that is to get up and try again with focus and intelligence.

Be careful though that you don’t try the same thing the same way every time and expect a different result. If you are not getting results with your approach, try a new one, but don’t give up. Remember, mental tennis is Roger Federer’s success secret. Emulate his persistence, his mental strength, his resolve, and in the end you will maximize your talent and ability.

Filed Under: inner game, mental confidence, mental strength, Mental Tennis Tagged With: , , , , ,

Azarenka Used Mental Tennis to Advance to Qatar Open Finals

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

At last years Qatar Open, Victoria Azarenka went home not only defeated literally, but defeated in mind. She went home discouraged and disheartened with her mind all messed up. But her time at home with supportive family worked wonders for her. She came back in January to win the Australian Open by defeating Maria Sharapova. And now in the Qatar Open, she has advanced to the  final match where she will play Samantha Stosur for the title. Azarenka Used Mental Tennis to Advance to Qatar Open Finals.

What has changed for Azarenka since last year? Probably a lot of hard work on the court, but also an new-found mental approach to tennis. In the Qatar Open semi-final match against Agineszka Radwanska, Azarenka suffered injury to her ankle and had to have it strapped and bound court side. It looked like she may decide to call the match off, but after a few minutes, she was up on her feet, carefully checking out her ankle and then she was ready to play. As the remainder of the match progressed, Azarenka’s skill and power could be seen again and she took control of the match winning 6-2 6-4.

Azarenka Used Mental Tennis to Advance to Qatar Open Finals

Anil John writing for the gulf-times.com quotes Azarenka:

“Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to pull it off. I had to concentrate very hard on every point, but I am happy that I made it,” said Azarenka who took her winning streak this year to 16 to equal Justin Henin’s record set in 2004; Maria Sharapova holds the most reason season-opening winning streak, going 18-0 in 2008.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to pull it off,” she said.  “I had to concentrate very hard on every point, but I am happy that I made it,” added Azarenka, who took her winning streak this year to 16 to equal the now retired Justine Henin’s record set in 2004. She said the adrenaline kept her going.
“Well, it is, but, you know, when you are in the match, adrenaline is going and you try not to think about it and just try to give your best, whatever it is.
“Sometimes the pain eases out, especially when you’re winning and you are in that mode that, you know, you kinda try to forget about the pain at least.  It doesn’t happen always.
“But as I said, I was just trying to have a clear mind, you know, and just fight through, whatever happened happened, but in my mind I had to adjust and just, you know, be okay with it that I’m not at my best. I just have to try as hard as I can.”
Azarenka said she is not sure what exactly her injury is and whether she will be 100 percent going into the final today.
“Well, I don’t want to you know, I cannot predict.  I’m not a psychic, or how you say, but we’ll see.  I have 24 hours, you know, to get better.  We’re gonna definitely do the best job as possible to be ready for tomorrow.
But the way it happened, I was just, you know, trying to reach for the ball, and I slipped and kinda twisted my ankle.  Other second I know, I was on the floor, you know.  So it’s shocking a little bit.” Original here.

This little vignette described above shows some of what it takes to be a champion. In this case she had to dig deeper, but Azarenka Used Mental Tennis to Advance to Qatar Open Finals.

Filed Under: mental strength, Mental Tennis, Mind Tennis, Victoria Azarenka Tagged With: , , ,
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