Jul

2

Djokovic servingDouble faulting is one of the most discouraging aspects of tennis. Watching Djokovic double fault the 2nd set away (and to end up losing the match) this morning during a tiebreaker against Berdych in the Wimbledon semifinal match shows that even the number 3 player in the world can feel pressure, fear and nerves on a critical point. Giving away points to an opponent after working hard is extremely aggravating and mentally difficult to overcome.

The tennis serve is very dependent on a good, consistent ball toss–it is so easy to get the wrist involved and throw the toss in all directions and to lower the head (anticipating the return of the serve) during the serve and serve into the net. It's almost better to serve long and try to add more spin than it is to dump a serve into the net. It is also important to think positive thoughts and not tighten up–that little voice in the head can easily lead you to a double fault.

Regular cues and ball bouncing rituals can be helpful.

It's shame though to lose a match due to choking or self-defeating behavior, and you don't see it that much amongst the top pros, but when it happens it is a hard thing to get out of the head. And more particularly when your nickname is "Joker" the press has an easy rhyming headline to use to remind you of your past failures.

Ralph Vince adds: 

McEnroe servingRE: it is also important to think positive thoughts and not tighten up.

This is SO absolutely true, and SO difficult to really define–that being loose, yet in a controlled pace without any real slack on the line. This is vital to performance in anything, be it tennis, fighting…or even thinking through problems. The Old Frenchman would say, "C'est toujours la meme chose," (It's always the same thing).

Think of anytime you've ever choked at anything– the aforementioned mental and physcial state was absent. Think of ANY fight you've ever been in. They always, ALWAYS tighten up, succumbing to fear and adrenaline.

I think pro athletes really understand this, and not just in the individual sports like tennis or golf, but even when these guys are shooting foul shots in basketball. Learning that mental groove is worth more than all the years one can spend in school I think. It's the kind of thing that one learns only by doing it, learned only through the prompting of pain and discomfort until it is found.

Learning things any other way is not really learning. 

Charles Pennington adds:

The serve has got to be the most non-intuitive and difficult-to-learn shot in tennis. Whenever I look at slow motion video showing the trajectory of the racquet, I am amazed that it's possible for a human to do it.

Here's a video of McEnroe serving, showing the fundamental steps–the weight shift, the toss, the swing of the racquet, and the line call argumentation.

Nigel Davies writes:

I wonder if the frequency of this kind of mistake may increase in proportion to a player's muscle mass. The 'nerves' might be a simple chemical equation.


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  1. steve on July 4, 2010 11:11 pm

    The difference between success and failure in everything in life is razor thin.

    Michael Jordan hits the final shot against Cleveland to go to the NBA finals.

    Mariano Rivera closes the 9th inning for the Yankees over 95% of the time.

    Tiger Woods when he is on his game rarely 3 puts. At one time he successfully converted over 300 consecutive 3 foot putts.

    Federer is nearly unbeatable on grass because of a number of things but especially because of his serve. The Williams sisters also have great serves.

    The point is that those who achieve the extra success in sports do so by giving the opponent and/or opponents very little margin of error to work with. The opponent knows ahead of time, that very little will be given to them and they must maintain a very high level of consistency. Most will unravel because of this one fact alone.

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