As I’m sure you know, self-belief is critical if you expect to win at any level. The best in the game have it most of the time–especially Federer and Nadal. But, they too, have their moments, especially when they’re playing one another.

But in the first week of Wimbledon we saw two perfect examples where both Falla and Petzschener paused, hiccupped, thought a moment too long (interestingly in both cases they were playing Fed and Nadal, respectively). And, not surprisingly, John McEnroe caught this hesitiation when Falla blew a 2 sets to 1 lead 4-4 in the 4th, 40-0, triple game point. ”This is where the demons come out, McEnroe said. “ It’s just a moment where you ask yourself, “Do I belong here?” I suppose if McEnroe saw it, he might have been there himself a few times. Perhaps one of the reasons he created chaos at just the “right” time? Hmmm….

But, the truth is, that’s all it takes, a moment of hesitation or doubt. And that’s what happened in each of these matches as well. And Federer, prevailed by the skin of his teeth. In Nadal’s case, he pretty much just grabbed the fumble and ran it in for a touchdown. Both Falla and Philipp Petzschener engaged in one of the more deadly sins in competitive tennis….thinking. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are 3-4 thoughts that are actually relevant in the course of a few hours (ie. keep working, never over until it’s over, work the point, etc…). But, if you can’t read their minds, all you needed to do was watch Petzchener spray his forehand and back off the return to know what just passed from one synapse to another. Falla couldn’t have dreamed of a better scenario. He had Federer in a corner. The only error he made was actually taking notice and not believing that he truly deserved the win.

So what on earth can we do when this thought, “I don’t belong” grabs a hold of you? Slam the door on it. Smile at it. Accept it. You choose. But, do me a favor, don’t believe it. We all have moments of doubt. Federer, himself, acknowledged that he thought he was going to lose the match in the 4th set when Falla had his back up against the wall. But, he didn’t back down. This thought did not seap into his game. Lu, too, defeating Roddick in five sets yesterday acknowledged, “I did not believe I could win in the 5th set because of his serve. But I kept fighting.”

The difference here is that if you want to take your game to the next level and you are in a position to score a “big win”, believe that it is your right to be there. You are there for a reason. You earned it. But you have to keep earning it until it’s over. The hesitation comes because your mind projects into the future. Then, you assess where you are. You’re not there yet so you hesitate and get tight.

Stay present. Believe you have a right to be there. Even if you don’t believe, act as if you do. Then pick your spot and rip it.

Easier said than done? Yes. But, we can all begin to shift old thinking styles into more productive ones.

If you’d like to learn more about how to do this, you may want to pick up a copy of my FREE PDF: The Secrets to Building your Confidence Under Pressure from my website www.fearlesstennis.com.