What I took away from this match was all about Novak’s ability to prepare to bounce back from lost points and to bring his very best to the most important moments.
Who has ever been as resilient as him. He gets up for the mat after being knocked down like no others before him. He is a real life version of Rocky.
My hope and thought is that this match has the potential of being like the first Rocky vs. Apollo fight. A fight where both landed a knockout punch to end the match.
Tennis though can’t end like that. Someone wins the last point.
One week into the Open and the stories are dramatic. A talented player who has lost his way. A declining champion. An underachiever who has found a way to reach new heights. A shocking come from behind win from a player who doesn’t seem to care. A more mature Young American. Last year’s champ under the radar. And more brilliance form Serena and Roger. More to come from these amazing athletes.
There is so much that these players teach us that, if we can find a way to be a little more like them we, too,can hit our marks more easily.
I watch to learn. To model what I see that I want to be. To make some positive changes in the way I go about trying to be a better version of myself.
I add these lessons to my daily to do list.
As many of you know, I am all about stories. Stories that players tell themselves that don’t work to get them what they want. And stories they tell themselves that create the possibility of being who they need to be to bring the very best out of themselves in the biggest moments of performance.
The press and the fans have stories about every player. It is important that the player has a story going that will give them the best chance to ignite the highest end of their talent and skills. So that, win or lose the score, they can look in the mirror and say, “I have no regrets. I brought my best.”
For all of these athletes it is about right practice, right attitude, right thinking. If that is in their mix then they play, win or lose, and have no regrets. As they compete to be the best version of themselves, they will be able to sit back and observe the results that come their way with the dignity and class of the great champions.
One of my blog readers came across some entries that I wrote 7 years ago. After reading my most recent about Federer adapting his game she commented that I wrote about the very same thing that I had bee doing with my game. She was very excited about her takeaways and encouraged me to post it.
So here it is. It will be followed by a couple of more that continue the story of the work that I was doing on my game to take it to another level.
I have been trying to write about Roger Federer since the US Open. Every time I started, though, my inner voice said to wait. Something amazing is yet to happen. I am glad I waited because this weekend Roger sealed the deal for me on me casting my vote that he is the greatest player I have ever witnessed.
I first went to the US Open in 1958 and saw Althea Gibson win what was then called the US Nationals. Forest Hills on the grass. Tennis was officially in my blood from that moment on. There were a few years that I didn’t attend but this will be about my 50th year of attending.
You would think it gets old.
Nope.
Shoshin.