"Every match here for me is like a final." - Switzerland's Roger Federer

The importance of the Olympics is not lost on Roger Federer, nor his opponents in the 2012 Olympic Tennis competition. The Olympics come around once every four years and the players are treating this competition with a specialness that may surpass the Slams.

"I am just happy to go through for my country. I hope I will continue like this." - France's Jo Wilfried Tsonga

With the amount of importance placed on the Olympics there is a corresponding rise in anxiety. Many seeded players looked nervous in their first round matches. Many survived the early round nerves, but not all. Berdych and Radwanska both fell in the first round and Djokovic and Federer survived scares.


Number one seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus also felt the nerves at Wimbledon:

"Your first match on Centre Court, there are always nerves, and today I couldn't get into the match in the second set. There were too many mistakes, but I'm glad I could turn things around and finish as strong as I started.

"I get more nervous when I play for my country than when I play for myself. Hopefully the next round will be much easier."(From www.independent.co.uk)

Often the first part of a player's game to breakdown with nerves are the feet. The feet stop moving and the player becomes to hit the ball while off balance. Another tell-tale sign that a player is nervous is poor decision-making. Hitting an errant drop shot from behind the baseline is often a look in to the brain and the body of the athlete; he or she is feeling tense.

Another source of anxiety in this Olympic tournament must be the draw. It is a 64 draw and most of the top players made themselves available to play. So, players knew they would have tough match-ups from the start of the tournament. Furthermore, the third round will produce top 16 match-ups. For instance, in the second round Tsonga plays young power hitter Milos Raonic from Canada. Now that is a tough second round match!

With everyone around the players talking about the importance of the Olympics and how they are treated with reverence it is understandable that the mentally toughest of players would experience nerves. Historically, the Olympic tennis tournament has been littered with upsets. Look for more of these upsets in the coming week as players not only deal with the pressure of winning in what may be there only chance at Olympic gold, but also for their country under the intense media spotlight.

Tennis is like a game of chess. Your opponent makes one move and you react and make your move. It is an ongoing battle of action and reaction. The ability to read your opponent and the situation is crucial to success. Those players that have great "IQ", "Smarts", "Court Awareness" are excellent at reading the situation and making good decisions.

Decision making, like many things in sport, is affected by a player's focus, stress, confidence, goals, game style to name a few things as well as by the opponent, momentum, score and so on. If a player can impose his or her game plan on an opponent chances are that he or she will win. However, if the opponent can dictate play chances are that you will lose.



I often see players come out with a very clear game plan only to lose it once they begun to struggle against their opponent. Maybe it is a panic response or a lack of focus and trust in the game plan. Likely it is all of the aforementioned reasons. Andre Agassi was known as a player who could impose his game on his opponent. He liked to stay in the middle of the court and work his opponent from side-to-side eventually wearing him down and/or hitting an outright winner. Agassi understood the importance of executing the game plan and how much joy a player can gain from being tested and still playing their game.

You have to have the mentality of executing your game when you don’t feel like there’s a lot of hope. I think the best feeling is when somebody pushes you to the limit and you dig down a little bit extra. By the same token, you also need a little luck. Sometimes they come together.

~ Andre Agassi

How can you stick to your game plan under pressure? When your opponent is controlling the play and you are feeling the weight of the pressure to hold serve? Trust is the answer. If you have prepared your self to play a certain game style, work a pattern of play and use them under pressure. Believe in them. They will help you get into a rhythm and begin to force your opponent to play your game. Encourage yourself to stick with the game plan and visualize it between points.

Players often stray from the game plan when they are feeling pressured and the plan does not work for a few points. Do not panic and rush between points. Take extra time, slow things down, and prepare yourself to play the next point with full focus, energy, and intensity. Take your cue from Rafa Nadal. When times get tough, compose yourself and prepare to play your game plan.

Roger Federer won Wimbledon because he attacked the net off of his excellent groundstrokes. Craig O'Shannessy's Brain Game blog on the ATP World Tour web site reveals the numbers (and the patterns) of Federer's success at the net versus Andy Murray.

Brain Game

As I posted last night it was Roger's willingness to be aggressive and go and take the championship that allowed him to win it. This stems from his belief in his game. For example, against Julien Benneteau Federer was two points from being ousted from Wimbledon. He missed numerous backhand volleys and struggled at the net against a player that does not hit a crushing passing shot. Fed gutted out that match as he did the match against Malisse.



Despite only winning 56% of the points at net against Benneteau, Federer stuck with the game plan of mixing in net rushes and coming forward when his opponent was deep in the court. And, in the Final against Murray he employed his aggressive tactic of first-strike tennis even more. He knew Murray was not as comfortable being aggressive so he took the net from him. None of this happens without full belief in one's self, strokes, and game plan. Take a lesson from Roger Federer. When you have a big goal you have been dreaming from within your grasp go and take it. Be aggressive, and smart. This is your best opportunity for success.

About a week ago Federer was playing Xavier Malisse and he was down two sets, and his back was causing him difficulty in moving. Everyone thought he was finished. I thought he still would come through and win that match and win Wimbledon. I was right, but truly it was based on a hunch. In fact I took these notes:

Roger 2 sets down, back issues, no way he is winning Wimbledon but yet I think he will

Here are 3 reasons why I think Fed will win Wimbledon:

1. First-strike ability
2. Coming to the net, all court game
3. He is driven win #7

Anyway, doesn't matter I didn't post it prior to Federer going down in history tied for the most Wimbledon singles titles. The more important story here is that when things were looking bleak for Roger he pulled a huge comeback against Malisse. How?



Federer had a full display of confident ball striking. He was crushing his forehand and backhand. His serve was awesome, especially with the roof closed. Federer was extremely mentally tough throughout Wimbledon despite the mounting pressure that this might be his last best chance.

What happened in the semis and finals was vintage Federer. He elevated his game when he needed it the most. He was aggressive and attacked Djokovic. His wide serve on the deuce side caused real problems for Nole. Against Murray it looked he had meet his match. Murray was pushing Roger around at the end of the first set. But, Federer was able to regain control with "first-strike" tennis putting Murray on the defensive and allowing Roger to use his forehand to angle Murray off the court.

Federer showed to us what we thought he had lost. The true belief, the total trust, the 100% confidence that has evaded him against Nadal and Djokovic in previous Grand Slam encounters. Not Wimbledon 2012. Federer played with a conviction to be aggressive that was impressive. He hit out on the ball like it was 2006. Roger took us down memory lane to the not-so-distant past when no one could out-rally him from the baseline. Total belief and conviction in his game allowed Federer to win a record seventh Wimbledon title.

Poor Andy Murray on the other hand. Murray played very well and did not lose this match, Fed won it. Andy has everything to be proud of from this Wimbledon final. He played aggressively. He stayed positive even as Federer grabbed the momentum late in the second set.

I think the problem for Murray is that it is more natural for him to play defense and move the ball around versus the "first-strike" tennis Federer is capable of playing. Murray sustained his aggressive approach in to the second set but I think he found it hard to continue this approach when Federer mounted the charge. I think the delay to close the roof hurt his momentum, plus Roger is still the best indoor player in the world.

The question I am sure many are asking is "Will Andy Murray ever win a Slam?" I think based on this performance I would say he can. On Sunday Murray ran in to a great champion on top of his game. But, the focus, positiveness, and aggression Murray showed during the Final will help him win his first Slam. And, who knows, maybe he wins Gold in a couple of weeks.

Sabine Lisicki is on another run at Wimbledon. She upset #1 Maria Sharapova in the round of 16 in straight sets. The formula of victory was similar to what we saw in Week 1. Big serve, big groundstrokes. Believe it or not Lisicki hit her way through Sharapova and is one match win from equaling her best run at Wimbledon (in 2011).

What were Lisicki's thoughts on the victory?

"I just went for my shots. I love the surface. It's my favourite tournament."
"I'm a fighter. I fight to the last point. The last game was tough but I fought it out."

What a great attitude to have in such a big match. Like Rosol the attitude that works is to go for your shots. Now, that does not mean hitting bombs from behind the baseline, but it does mean swinging through the ball and hitting with depth, spin, and pace.

If you fear losing the victory you probably will lose. Go for the win and great things can happen.