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| Welcome to the September 2022 update from Tennis Server, http://www.tennisserver.com/
Greetings,
Yesterday marked the end of an incredible era, as Roger Federer, at age 41, teamed with Rafael Nadal to play his final match of his professional tennis career -- a career that began in 1998. He was ranked world No. 1 by the ATP for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He won 103 ATP singles titles, the second most of all time, including 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a record eight men's singles Wimbledon titles, an Open Era record-tying five men's singles US Open titles, and a record six year-end championships.
Roger Federer. |
When I covered and interviewed Roger at the ATP Championship back in 2004 (which he won), he personified grace and elegance. He answered many questions that had been submitted by Tennis Server readers (See: You Asked, They Answered: The World's Top Pros Answer Questions From Tennis Server Readers. Roger was as smart and unpretentious a fellow as one could ever hope to meet. At the time, he played without a coach, and unlike some of the other players who had entourages numbering in the dozens, he traveled with just three people (his then girlfriend/now wife Mirka, his trainer, and a friend). Again and again he showed how humbled and appreciative he was of his circumstances, and how much he loved the game he played.
Federer's farewell speech after the conclusion of his final match at the Laver Cup is a must watch. If you haven't seen it yet, you can find it here on Twitter. You might want to have a tissue handy.
In his September column, John Mills explains the benefits of spending warm-up time using a short court of just the service boxes. See: "Short Court".
In his reprised column in this newsletter below, Tennis Warrior Tom Veneziano looks at mental strategies that increase your odds in a tennis match. See: "Percentage thinking - selecting the correct thought!" below.
Please be careful out there. Be sure to do your part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by getting vaccinated, and read this guide from the USTA: Playing Tennis Safely during the time of COVID-19: Player Tips and Recommendations.
Have fun on the court!
Cliff Kurtzman
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Tennis Server
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The Tennis Warrior by Tom Veneziano
Tom Veneziano |
The Tennis Warrior is brought to you by Tom Veneziano (tom@tennisserver.com). Tom is a tennis pro teaching at the Piney Point Racquet Club in Houston, Texas. Tom has taught thousands of players to think like a pro with his Tennis Warrior System.
Percentage thinking - selecting the correct thought!
I'm not talking about percentage play, but percentage thinking! What's the difference? Well, percentage play is the ability to select the highest percentage shot that gives you the best opportunity to win over the long haul. For instance, in singles your best percentage play from the baseline is a crosscourt shot. Why? Because the net is lower and the court is longer when you choose to hit crosscourt. Therefore, the percentages say you will hit more balls into the court by hitting crosscourt, reducing the chance of missing the shot. By the way, human nature has a big problem selecting percentage shots with any consistency. Percentage play does not seem to be compatible with the impatience of human nature and the "all or nothing" mentality! Players are constantly playing in the "hit winners" mind-set.
What is percentage thinking? It's similar to percentage play, but strictly deals with THOUGHT. Percentage thinking is the ability to select the highest percentage THOUGHT that gives you the best opportunity to win over the long haul. For example, when you make a mistake you have two choices: one, let it bother you, or two, forget it and move on. Two choices! You can always make a choice good or bad. Percentage thinking dictates that you must select number two, forget your mistakes and move on. Doing this will give you the greatest opportunity to win over time.
You will have many opportunities on the tennis court to make decisions that are crucial to the outcome of your matches... crucial! You must learn percentage thinking to win with the strokes you possess today. Some of those correct percentage thoughts are:
- Do not allow mistakes to bother you.
- Do not allow self-doubt to sneak into your mind.
- Do not over-think your failures.
- Do not change your game when you are winning.
- Do not panic when you have a run of mistakes.
- Do not panic when your opponent has a run of good shots.
- Do not become over-confident when you have a big lead.
- Do not think you cannot win when you are about to lose.
- Do not think you have already won when you are about to win.
- Do not think you are the only one who is nervous.
- Do not think winning at tennis is all about great tennis strokes.
- Do not think losing at tennis will ruin the rest of your life!
This is just a partial list, but it will help you tilt the mental odds in your favor and win a higher percentage of your matches. And you can do it with the EXACT STROKES you possess today.
JUST CHANGE YOUR THINKING!
Your Tennis Pro,
Tom Veneziano
   
In Tom Veneziano's book "The Truth about Winning!", tennis players learn in a step-by-step fashion the thinking the pros have mastered to win! Tom takes you Step-by-step from basic mental toughness to advanced mental toughness. All skill levels can learn from this unique book from beginner to professional. No need to change your strokes just your thinking. Also available at a discount as an E-Book.
Audio CDs by Tom Veneziano:
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See you on the courts,
--Cliff Kurtzman for Tennis Server
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