Do you find that you get stuck in old mental habits–worrying about whether you will win or lose, getting frustrated with your errors, feeling tense? Someone once told me never to tell students that something is hard to do. I disagree. Breaking old mental habits, based on all of our past conditioning, IS hard. Being real about this sets us up for the challenge and opportunity before us. To think otherwise is both unfair and unrealistic. Read the rest of this entry →

Mastering your time between points must include, at times, some tactical or technical goal–that is, how you want to play the next point. And stage three would be the time to do it. You’ve already directed your attention away from thoughts or judgment about the last point and focused your eyes on something external (i.e. your strings). Read the rest of this entry →

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. Read the rest of this entry →