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Whats The Secret To His Success?
By Tomaz Mencinger Mental Sports consultant Founder of tennismindgame.com
Roger Federer is the current ruler of men’s tennis. 2005
was an incredible year for him as he entered 15 tournaments and
won 11 of them including Wimbledon and US Open for the second consecutive
year.
But how did Roger Federer become such a good player and what are
his special abilities or mental traits that make him such a superb
player?
If you take a look at his career you'll find that his path to the
top was not easy at all:
In 1998 – aged 17 – he entered 4 ATP
tournaments and lost 3 times in the first round.
In 1999 he played 21 ATP tournaments and even played
at Ljubljana Challenger – the capital of Slovenia. (That’s
my home country) And he lost 8 times in the first round and 4 times
in the second. He won one challenger event in the whole year.
In 2000 - aged 19 – he lost 5 times in a
row and later 7 times in row in the first round but started to get
higher and higher in the tournaments. All in all he lost 14 times
in the first round! He also lost two finals that year and finished
the year at nr. 28. Interesting fact - he lost to Michael Chang
at Halle on grass in the 3rd round!
In 2001 he finished the year at nr. 12 but still
lost 6 times in the first round (or his first match he played since
he had a »bye« twice in the first round. That was also
the year he won that fantastic match against Pete Sampras in Wimbledon
7:5 in the fifth set.
By 2002 you might think that Roger Federer has
already achieved his mental mastery but he still had some very tough
losses: - against Tommy Haas in Australian Open (R16) 6:8 in the
fifth set
- against Davide Sanguientti in the finals if Milan 1:6 in the third
-against Agassi in the finals of Miami – 1:3 in sets (Agassi
later commented in his interview that »when Roger Federer
learns how to play tennis at this top level we're all in trouble«.)
- lost in the first round of Wimbledon against Mario Ancic 0:3!
He finished that year at nr. 6.
In 2003 Roger Federer lost in the finals against
Felix Mantilla in Rome 0:3 and 10:12 in the final set tie-break.
Lost in the first round of French Open against Luis Horna and then
won Wimbledon for the first time! He then finished the year by winning
the Masters cup in Houston against Agassi in the finals.
He lost in the finals of Gstaad just after Wimbledon against Jiri
Novak and did not lost a final until the masters cup in 2005 against
Nalbandian.
That's an incredible run of 24 consecutive wins in the finals!
So what can we learn from Roger Federer?
First, he had to go through very tough times –
he lost 5 and 7 times in a row in the first round in 2000. Many
players would make the conclusion that they can't make it, that
they are losers and so on. But the past does not define the future
unless we decide it does. Roger Federer didn't think that because
he lost 14 times in the first round that year, that he couldn’t
make it big on the ATP tour. He practiced harder, smarter, learned
his lessons and moved on.
He also lost 2 finals (and later some more) and didn't allow that
to become his nightmare scenario. He knew this is just a part of
the learning and growing process that all great players have to
go through.
His later achievements reflect his transformation when it comes
to finals – 24 consecutive wins in the finals. We've all heard
and seen players who get really nervous when it's the finals day.
Why? Because of negative thinking. They are thinking what a waste
it would be if they lost this final. They really don't want to lose
this opportunity.
Even when you're thinking that you don't want to lose, you're subconsciously
still thinking about losing. These thoughts make you feel very anxious
and afraid. When you start playing in this state of mind you are
miles away from your best performance. Thinking about negative aspects
of the game often become self fulfilling prophecies.
Roger Federer on the other hand seems to explode in finals. The
2005 US Open against Agassi is a perfect example. Roger didn't play
at his best a couple of previous rounds but when he started the
match against Agassi he simply destroyed him with aggressive and
attacking play.
How does Roger do that? He is focused on what he wants. He wants
to win, he can feel how it would be to win and with that feeling
and that positive thinking he generates a lot of energy. He goes
for what he wants and doesn't think what he wants to avoid. The
only thoughts in his mind are on the controllable parts of his game;
by doing these well he has become almost unbeatable.
Through repetition of positive thoughts and actions, over time
Federer has programmed his subconscious mind, it becomes the driving
force for his decisions in the match. It seems that he plays on
autopilot, allowing his mind to come up with the best answers for
each situation. All directed to the goal of winning the match.
It also looks like he can enter the zone on command. He is the
master of Inner Game where he plays instinctively, courageously
and creatively.
Look how calm he looks, his head is so balanced at contact. The
reason for that is that his MIND IS STILL at the point of contact.
He is not worried, afraid, doubtful in thinking ahead. He is fully
present in that specific moment of striking the ball. And he moves
on with his mind and body when the stroke is finished.
The other inner game quality that he possesses is the ability to
be non-judgmental. Roger Federer is not perfect (even though some
people think so), he does make unforced errors too. But you will
rarely see him show any emotion about that. He accepts them as a
part of the game and remains focused on his goal – what he
wants – instead of what he doesn’t want.
Roger Federer had to learn the game the hard way. But he didn't
allow the setbacks to define his future. Remember that when you
lose a first round match or a final.
He is focused on what he wants and he goes for it. This is very
important because we have the ability to control our thinking if
we decide to. Focus on what you want.
Roger Federer plays in the state of acceptance – or as Timothy
Gallwey calls it – non-judgment. He accepts negative or disturbing
events and his own mistakes and limitations as a part of the game
and a part of himself. He doesn't judge them and feel bad about
them. It would immediately take him out of the zone.
Observe him and other tennis players and look for the moments when
you experience non-judgment. Then build on it until it becomes your
second nature. Then you'll be free to play uninhibited tennis!
We would like to thank Tomaz Mencinger for his insight
into what makes Roger Federer such a great player.
From what I have heard Federer has not always been a model player.
He too went through the emmotional stages that lots of kids go through
when they are developing. The big learning point from this article
is that he has learnt from his mistakes and no matter what obstacles
got in his way Federer percevered and showed true determination
to achieve his goals. As this article goes live Federer is currently
trying to achieve another goal, that is winning the French Open.
I am sure that if he doesn't succeed this year he will come back
even hungrier next year. I say good luck to him and I hope he lifts
the trophey!
Visit Tomaz's website, tennismindgame.com
for more mental skills articles.
Tomaz has also written an E-Book ‘The Mental Manual
For Tennis Winners’. It gives you relevant and proven
tips to enable you to assess critical situations with a positive
mindset, high energy and confidence. |
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Best wishes
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