Managing Momentum
My home is in Denver, Colorado, and last night was both bitterly cold (-4) and bitterly disappointing, to say the least. The Broncos went down 38-35 in a hard-fought game in what could have and should have been a satisfying win, and they were ahead several times. But at these critical times, the Broncos opted to play “conservatively” instead of playing for the win. And they lost. What’s that got to do with tennis? Plenty!
In my opinion, the worst losses are those where you “gave the game away” by becoming too defensive. Letting up, waiting for your opponent to make mistakes. And you know what? When someone’s back is against the wall, they usually play better. The last thing one can afford to do was let up!
Here’s an excerpt from an article in the New York Times about Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling:
Much of the conversation between tennis fans on Thursday was centered on how quickly the match between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling changed on Wednesday. What looked like a straight-sets clinic of brilliant play by Federer turned into a tense battle that the top seed was fortunate to escape. Up, two sets to none, and cruising in the third-set tie-breaker, Federer momentarily took his foot off the gas and Soderling won the third set and nearly won the fourth.
The match is a good example of the importance of momentum in a tennis match. In Chuck Kriese’s coaching bible “Total Tennis Training,” he describes why this invisible force is so important for a player to understand: “Tennis more than any other sport, is a game of momentum. The absence of a clock to do the dirty work of finishing off an opponent, and a scoring system based on units used makes the flow of the match much more important than any lead that has been established.”
You can read the whole article here. And check out Chuck Kriese’s book “Coaching Tennis” If I could only have one book on tennis, this is the one I’d have, covering the physical, mental and emotional aspects of tennis in an easy to understqnd way. It’s long been one of my favorites.
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