Stumbling Across the Finish Line 20
I love the challenges of managing my stories.
Tennis Competition
Slipping and Sliding: A Return to the Dirt 20
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.
National Clay Court Championships: A Chance to Reboot My Game 193
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.
Novak: The Master of Preparation and Resiliency 42
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.
Roger vs. Novak Once Again 12
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.
Serena: The Princess and the Pea 87
You are the best ever. You lost because you were beaten by a better player on that day. That is what happens in sport. It is about today. Your rhythm was thrown off because of any extra day due to the rainout? Your opponent didn’t play the way your two prior opponents played? It was hard to play with the pressure of having to win the Grand Slam? You were tired from so many matches?
Are you Princess who cannot sleep because of a pea under the mattress?
As Roberta Vinci said in her post match interview after beating Serena, I am sorry.
I am sorry Serena but I need to write about you and disappointment I feel.
First Week US Open Thoughts 17
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.
Shoshin and The US Open 17
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.
Roger vs. Novak Redux 13
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.
Serena To Retire? Part 2 17
Like the aging boxer that keeps getting up off the mat because that is just what they do. Until one day they say, “enough. No mas.”
Is winning enough to keep her playing?
As Nadal says, “do I need to win 10 French Opens?”
Serena, do you need to win more titles? Do you need to win the Grand Slam? Do you need the records? Or are you doing it for others?