Over the years I have learned to redefine winning to include the way I play, the effort that I give, the attitude I maintain, the responsibility I take, the appreciation for my opponent, how I react after the match, the way I am with the one who has defeated me and the resilience with which I bounce back.
I love the challenges of managing my stories.
I felt that my mental and emotional training was really strong. Since the move to Boulder I have been excited about every moment of every day. And I am feeling so happy. I can’t imagine a better mindset for going into a competition.
I have always believed that if my life is good, my tennis will be good.
So I arrived excited, happy and eager to observe the state of my tennis. Winning is always important to me but it is far from the only thing. I want to play well.
Nearly two years since the last National. Now, I am two days away from the National Clay Championships. New Orleans Tennis Club founded in 1876, the oldest tennis club in the country. It will be great to be back in the mix. The first day buzz of seeing players who I have been competing with for over 30 years. First practice on the clay in the humid south tomorrow. Pumped for feeling the dirt under my tennis shoes.
When we go somewhere we usually have an idea of why we are going and what we expect to find.
Then, when we least expect it, we find something so different that it is disorienting.
That is what happened in Tucson last week.
Three days of teaching from some of the best minds in the industry.
Three days of learning by some of the most passionate recreational athletes in the country.
How about that for some serious synergy?
So how do you get the most out of it?
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.
