Archived Tennis Journals


Sticking With the New Game Without Fear of Losing 263

Sticking With the New Game Without Fear of Losing What an exciting tournament for me. I came into the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix with big mental challenges. I showed up on a 22 match winning streak. I had enough ranking points to be ranked #1 in the USA even if […]


Winning Is Nice But Doesn’t Last Long. Improvement Lasts for a Lifetime 108

The last journal that I wrote was from Croatia, the day that I had something hit me like a lightening bolt. Having turned around a loss to Denmark with a win on the final day against Switzerland. For the sake of those that didn’t read it and to remind those who […]


Sometimes You Just Need to Lose to Win 161

Losing to Kasper Ruud on Thursday was just what I needed. My past successes have come as a result of my finding a way to play that kept working. Mostly I had found that maintaining presence shot by shot worked. My presence was one of using my fitness and speed […]


A Zone Never Approached Before 253

I have been playing tournaments for 36 years and have had many exciting moments and lots of wonderful results. For the last 18 months I have hit a level of result success that has amazed me. These results have suggested to me that I have found confidence like never before. […]


Short Memory Leads to a Big Victory 342

Our quarterfinal match today was against a tough Canadian team. On paper it was a tossup match. Capt Brent Abel once again stepped in at second singles and won in three sets, doing a great job of shaking out early match nerves. My match was against a guy that I […]


Who Wouldn’t Want a Coach?/Problem Solving 114

Who Wouldn’t Want a Coach I will start off with the results. We played Italy, the second team in our group on Monday. Brent Abel played the opening match at #2, won easily. I followed at #1 and played a clean first set against a talented opponent. I was running […]


There is Nothing Like Playing for the USA 161

Yesterday was one of the most exciting days in my many years of playing competitive tennis. After an 11 year hiatus I was once again participating in the International World Senior Tennis Championships (aka Senior Davis Cup.) Four players from each age group are selected to compete for one week […]


Freedom from Pressure Leads to a Gold Ball Victory 302

I wrote early in the week about my worries and doubts. By writing about them I was able to see them as self perceived and, basically, not truths. These thoughts and feelings were all self perceived.  Over the years I have trained out thoughts that don’t give me what I […]


Mental Slips Can Be Costly 174

Mental Slips Can Be Costly It rained all day on Friday so all matches were postponed for a day. After many years of playing tournaments I have learned how to accept days that don’t fit into the schedule that I want. Showing up at the courts and being told to […]


It Never Gets Old 197

It Never Gets Old All of us, before a match, like to get a short warmup in with another one players still left in the tournament. Steven Radigan, a player from Connecticut that I competed with when I was living and playing on Long Island twenty years ago. We both […]