Friday, 26 June 2015
The issue of trying to compete with talented European tennis players may just be the same problem that the players ranked 200 plus have with higher ranked players, a feeling of belonging. Some tennis players can beat up on guys their own standard or less but when it comes to making an impression on a player with many more credentials it may just seem too high a hurdle to clear.
I never once felt as though I belonged on court with the European players because it was their turf with their crowds with their own families and friends to support them. Was I to totally ignore all of that and have no respect whatsoever for the whole situation and simply go about my business like a programmed robot ?
Well that's what I was supposed to do but not once did I feel comfortable trying. In fact most of my matches involved a belting in the first set before self pride would kick in and a few games were won in the second set to at least get my French francs' worth out of the entry fee.
So what was the problem ? Was I a pacifist of the sport of tennis who was just happy to take in the surrounds, experience the culture and hand an opponent a match like a postman hands a customer a letter ? Where was my practice form which oozed confidence and a state of mind that if transferred to a match would surely be enough to be more than competitive ?
Was I experiencing what Mats Wilander said all those years ago when asked about his personal thoughts on his chances of winning a major against the likes of Connors, McEnroe and Lendl ?Wilander played down his chances initially, a sign of respect for the players and the sport. What's wrong with that ?
Was I simply in awe of the sport and the opponents presented to me ? Most probably.
Every standard of tennis has a testing period, a time to either match it with the players around you or a time to be brutally honest with yourself and work on some issues. Only the strongest players both technically and mentally can keep breaking through the packs as they have that sense of belonging that requires an enormous amount of self belief. Not every player owns that.
Watching Brett in particular against the Europeans was like watching a gate crasher at a party who was not interested in putting on the party hat and playing pass the parcel. He was there for one reason and there were no sentiment involved in his play or his mental approach.
You probably notice I speak highly of Brett but that is probably due to his presence on a tennis court, he's 6 feet 4", that's a large presence. Peter also had some great results and owned self confidence but it was not in the form of Brett's but that may have had a lot to do with the fact that Pete was half a foot shorter than Brett.
Sometimes in a tennis match a call may not go your way and owning a bit of height can often work in your favour, almost like a bloke at a pub who gets beer spilled on him. "Hey mate you won't do that again will you ey"? Height can be of advantage in more ways than one in tennis.
Not every tennis player owns height, not every player owns technical or mental prowess and not every player owns an ability to believe in themselves when they are up against many factors in a tennis match. In 1991 I had the opportunity to self assess, the chance to finally put myself in the most uncomfortable tennis environment I could.
In fact it was not unlike Bear Grylls when he challenges himself in the wilderness. Bear doesn't go down to the local nature strip to test himself, he finds the most challenging of jungles to fight his way out of.
That's how a tennis player's maturity is often tested, it's the density of wilderness that he can fight his way out of that will define him as a player.
I never once felt as though I belonged on court with the European players because it was their turf with their crowds with their own families and friends to support them. Was I to totally ignore all of that and have no respect whatsoever for the whole situation and simply go about my business like a programmed robot ?
Well that's what I was supposed to do but not once did I feel comfortable trying. In fact most of my matches involved a belting in the first set before self pride would kick in and a few games were won in the second set to at least get my French francs' worth out of the entry fee.
So what was the problem ? Was I a pacifist of the sport of tennis who was just happy to take in the surrounds, experience the culture and hand an opponent a match like a postman hands a customer a letter ? Where was my practice form which oozed confidence and a state of mind that if transferred to a match would surely be enough to be more than competitive ?
Was I experiencing what Mats Wilander said all those years ago when asked about his personal thoughts on his chances of winning a major against the likes of Connors, McEnroe and Lendl ?Wilander played down his chances initially, a sign of respect for the players and the sport. What's wrong with that ?
Was I simply in awe of the sport and the opponents presented to me ? Most probably.
Every standard of tennis has a testing period, a time to either match it with the players around you or a time to be brutally honest with yourself and work on some issues. Only the strongest players both technically and mentally can keep breaking through the packs as they have that sense of belonging that requires an enormous amount of self belief. Not every player owns that.
Watching Brett in particular against the Europeans was like watching a gate crasher at a party who was not interested in putting on the party hat and playing pass the parcel. He was there for one reason and there were no sentiment involved in his play or his mental approach.
You probably notice I speak highly of Brett but that is probably due to his presence on a tennis court, he's 6 feet 4", that's a large presence. Peter also had some great results and owned self confidence but it was not in the form of Brett's but that may have had a lot to do with the fact that Pete was half a foot shorter than Brett.
Sometimes in a tennis match a call may not go your way and owning a bit of height can often work in your favour, almost like a bloke at a pub who gets beer spilled on him. "Hey mate you won't do that again will you ey"? Height can be of advantage in more ways than one in tennis.
Not every tennis player owns height, not every player owns technical or mental prowess and not every player owns an ability to believe in themselves when they are up against many factors in a tennis match. In 1991 I had the opportunity to self assess, the chance to finally put myself in the most uncomfortable tennis environment I could.
In fact it was not unlike Bear Grylls when he challenges himself in the wilderness. Bear doesn't go down to the local nature strip to test himself, he finds the most challenging of jungles to fight his way out of.
That's how a tennis player's maturity is often tested, it's the density of wilderness that he can fight his way out of that will define him as a player.
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