Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 15, 1990 TAG: 9004150054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Larry Lineberry
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Let's talk about how the mental-physical concept relates to tennis. Seventy percent of time in an average tennis match is spent not hitting the ball. Think about it. You are chasing a ball after it lands out, clearing the first-serve miss from the courts before your second serve, walking around the baseline waiting to receive serve. See what I mean?
It is my experience that more matches are won or lost in that 70 percent of non-hitting or "mental" time than in the 30 percent of actual ball-striking or "physical" time. This assumes that the level of ability is relatively equal between the opponents. But even when there is disparity in ability, the thoughts in between the hits determine the overall level of play.
In my junior year of high school, I had an experience that made a deep impression on me. Our team played host to a particular school, and when my opponent walked on the court, I knew I was going to win.
This guy looked like the egghead champion of the decade. He had short, uncombed hair with dandruff, glasses like the bottom of two Coke bottles, black Chuck Taylor canvas shoes, black socks, and, so help me, when he took his frame out of the cover, a slide rule fell out.
Get the picture? I felt the guy didn't even belong on the same court with me.
The match began. The first point was a sequence of well-struck crosscourt ground strokes by me, while his shots, though solid and deep, were maybe 20 percent less pace. After seven or eight strokes, I finally saw a chance to approach the net. I hit the ball four or five feet from the baseline and a couple of feet from the sideline, and I came running in, ready to volley off a winner. This guy stepped up and cracked a backhand up the line that was so hard I didn't even see the ball until it was on its second bounce. That shot made me mad.
We kept having long rallies, and at precisely the right time, this guy would hit either an outright winner or a ball just out of reach. I kept getting more and more angry. How could this Einstein with skinny legs and a serve that looked like a wounded duck be beating me?
Throughout the match, the guy never said a word except "nice shot" whenever I hit one, while I was thinking and mumbling, "This is ridiculous . . . Why is this guy beating me? . . . This guy doesn't even look like a tennis player." He beat me 6-2, 6-2.
Why did he beat me? Was he faster? No. Have a better serve? No. What he did was use his mental or non-hitting time to his advantage. He never said a word between shots. He never looked irritated or concerned. He always had his mind on what was going on. When I would hit a ball obviously out, before the ball would even bounce out, he was dropping his head, walking to position and preparing for the next point. He used every available second to keep working on whatever was next. I, on the other hand, was fuming and fussing about the increasing possibility that this guy might beat me. I wasn't concentrating on the next move. I wasted my 70 percent non-hitting time; he maximized his.
But I learned a lesson that has served me well, and since then, I have won many times against a more-talented player by the act of concentration. I can out-think my opponent by focusing totally on the next move and by maximizing my mental time.
A second lesson I learned that day was that when you play to win, you must do what you do best. My opponent had no serve, but he was steady and focused well when he had a small area to hit through. When I came to the net, he had to hit the ball into about a four-foot window over the net. With his focusing ability, he could do it. He did not serve and volley or hit many ground strokes for winners. Instead, he kept hitting until I missed, out of impatience, or until I came in and he had his reason to focus.
As players, we need to be aware of what works for us. When crunchtime comes, we win with what we do best. For most players, it is simply being consistent and hitting to the backhand. Our game may not be pretty or exciting, but would you rather look good or win?
Next time you play, consider what you are thinking about while the ball is not in play. The real fun in tennis, for me, is perfecting the skill of blocking out irrelevant thoughts (What's for dinner? . . . Who do I play next? . . . I beat this guy last time we played. . . .), and being brave enough to think about what the next move will be (Get this toss up. . . . Return to the backhand. . . . Step in more on the next shot. . . .).
By brave enough, I mean that it takes real courage to wipe your mind clean of all thoughts but the game. If we let our minds wander, we can always use that as an excuse for our losing - "If I had really wanted to, I could have beaten him." It is too ego-damaging for many players to give their all, to really concentrate, and still come up short. Don't let your ego stand in the way of the tremendous opportunity to be brave and win. You will still lose some matches, but in the long run, you will gain much more than you ever lose.
\ TIP: "Watch the ball, bend your knees. That will be $30.00, please" is more than a cute tennis-lesson cliche. Watching the ball and bending your knees are two of the most important techniques a player can develop.
\ PET PEEVE: Scene: It is my serve, but the balls are on my opponent's side of the court. Without thinking he hits one ball out of my reach in one direction and the second ball out of my reach in the other direction. This means a 60-foot walk and an extra 30 seconds before I can serve. It takes no more effort to aim the balls and hit them, one at a time, directly to the server.
\ PREDICTION: Andre Agassi will become the Pam Shriver of men's tennis. He will not lose often to players ranked below him, but he also will very seldom beat players ranked above him. He will be a solid Nos. 6-10 ranked player in the world over the next two years. That's still not too bad.
by CNB