Champions Move On
A Jim Loehr course I sat in for last year talked about how champions, by their very definitions, were abnormalities.  What made a champion a champion, was because his/her innate reaction towards obstacles and difficulty were intrinsically different.

In other words, champions don't act, react, behave or think like normal people.

Take Federer versus the lay man on court, in a 4-5 down, advantage in situation.  The serve opens, the rally starts.  He hits the first ball deep, aggressively. His second ball shoots past the net---clipping the lines accurately, pushing his opponent deeper into the back of the court.  Too soon, his opponent starts struggling with the rabbit race to and fro---and inevitably he gives that weak half-assed lob in response.  The lay man sees the opportunity---shuffles quickly to the front, pointing his free hand at the dropping ball as he poises his racquet arm elegantly.

"Ha!  I've got him!" 

And just as he lets his arm sail, he inevitably hits that easy smash into the net.  Into the net.  Instead of his, the fist pumping, adrenaline-rushing "VAMOSS!!" goes triumphantly to his opponent.

Now, the layman, being the lay man he is, would scream at himself.  Maybe his arms start flailing around like flaming limbs dipped in kerosene.  His face might be contorted into a Van-Gogh howl.  Or at best, the more elegant of the lays slouches over, drops his head and shakes it disconsolately. 


Federer, however, as we have seen in so many occasions, behaves differently.  The only thing that drops are his eyes.  His body does a quick swivel around while his fingers hold onto his grip not to smash it---but to simply twirl it in his hands.  It's almost as if he twirls the error out of the fabric of his mind too. Drop it.  Moves on.

Maybe champion tennis players, or just champions in general, are really palimpsest experts in disguise...

Upwards and Onwards
Dartfish, Morphing Training Systems, and,
as Fernando says, "How not to play like my neighbour."

Aside from the recent loss, I have been playing really well these past few days.  In drills, practice matches, I can really feel my game improving.  I've told you about him but I'll say it again.    Am really grateful that I have Fernando Boldo, my new tutor to guide me.  I think it's funny that knowing that my previous tutor was Andreas, it was only when i learnt how to be content and appreciate his value as a coach, that God finally gave me the coach that I wanted.  Fernando's so full of passion and energy!  He has experience, good ideas, and keeps on pushing pushing pushing me to get better.  Everyday.

Things are also changing in the academy---I think for the better.  They are slowly but surely making tweaks to the training system here.  It's not just endless, senseless drills now---they're taking more time to explain the drills in more depth now, the coaches are meeting for more meetings, they've just introduced a inter-league between players in the academy for the whole semester, and have also started using more camera, tournaments, psychology and video-watching for the players.  I for one, just watched myself on Dartfish---a revolutionary tennis analytical programme that plays videos of myself doing drills and allows my coach Fernando to review my shots in a clear, detailed manner. 

He can zoom in, slow down, super slow down, speed up, and mark my image on any frame of the video with obvious start, stop, forward backward functions.  While I winced watching myself, it was really good because I could finally see some things that he's been trying to get me to work on---like having better double rhythm in my footwork, switching my body position in between shots, how I tend to let my free hand droop when I hit the ball, etc.  It was actually quite disheartening at first----I never like seeing myself on video, but hey, it's the truth, right?  Seeing it is the only way to get better.

But going back to my game, Fernando told me that the girls are slowly starting to respect me more because I'm starting to play.... good tennis.  Even beating some of them. 

Last week, I thought I played the best tournament match I've ever played in my life, and on tuesday I played even better. 

Irony is that I lost both, but that is not important.  There was so much variation in my shot selection, and a lot more intelligence in the way I built up the point.  I was very pleased---and I really have to thank Fernando for teaching me how to construct points and think them through better.  Even though she may have won, I think I did with my own objectives too.  Every time I constructed the shot well, read her body correctly, moved into optimum position and executed the shot----my opponent had no answers.  No answers at all.

Now, the next step is to keep learning how to be more consistent.

"Not Just Passion.  I want TENSION!"

That's what my tutor coach Fernando said to me after I lost my tournament match today.

I lost 2-6, 1-6 to a pimp squeak of an 11 year old who hit the ball like a beast for her age.  She was good---Catalunya regional champion for an age group (can't remember whether it was U-12 or U-14).   Before the match, she genuinely looked like a very tame, nice girl.  Big eyes, spectacles, soft voice, shy eyes.  But during the match she made a whole load of dubious line calls and score changes---which I, thinking in disbelief that she couldn't possibly be cheating, gave to her because I thought maybe I got it wrong.  Towards the last game of our match, I realised she was cheating and got sooooo pissed off because it was already too late into the game to change much. 

I found out later that she has a massive reputation for cheating on line calls and changing game scores. 

What an eleven year old ...

Complained to Fernando about it and he scolded me and said "Why didn't you call the umpire??  It is your fault for not fighting for those points."

Sigh.  Yes, true.

In one way, this is the price I'm paying to learn this.  And I'm glad I'm learning this in a small tournament instead of an important one.  I learnt a lot about complacency, playing in massive wind (it was 40km/hr that afternoon), and just learning how to keep my cool.  When I shook her hand at the end of the match, I didn't even say thanks.  I just looked her in the eye and said "honesty is the best policy."  It's really not my style to gripe and scrum over every point----hence why I didn't think about calling the referee over. 

"How would it look if a 25 year old is fighting with an 11 year old about whether a ball is in or out??"  I thought.  Maybe faulty thinking.  But nevertheless, after finding out the truth, I have decided that the next time I play with her, I will show no mercy at all.  I will screw her over mentally, emotionally and physically.

Be, Be, Be, Be My ♥
Was trying to think of someone I'd truly, sincerely want to hug and kiss this Valentines.

Jesus, I thought of You. xxoxx

"When we play, attack starts with our legs." ---Sergio Casal

Overheard this while walking past the courts after tournament today. 

"How true," I thought.

Got a walkover---was kinda looking forward to my match.  I play again tomorrow morning.  Rest now before practice again in 40 minutes.

Rotan Living

 

It takes so much damn discipline to sleep early.  And each time I don't, my consciousness weighs in like a menacing Lat encik.

But I have to force myself to.  Probably explains why I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to.  Tournament starts again tomorrow, and as usual, have been drawn with a tough opponent.  Am looking forward to it---and as much as I detest a lifestyle dictated by threatening rattan fibers, I am beginning to wonder if that is exactly the life I need more of.

Body Drudging, Eyelids Closing
I don't know why---but I'm feeling so knackered after this morning's two hour session.  I'm supposed to go to the gym but I want to curl up in bed and sleep now....  It's only a Monday---and it's as if my weekend didn't help me recover at all!

Was it something I ate over the weekend? :(

The Next Level

"EHHH.  You play like my grandmother okayyyyy???"

Coaches here throw us that line whenever they see sub-standard play.  When we're moving too slowly, or when our strokes turn sloppy.  It's meant to be an insult, a verbal sling in the face to get us to wake up.  Or, as PCK would say, Wake up your idea!!

-----
Today, I practiced for five hours, played two sets, and took my play to a whole new level.  Instead of playing like a grandmother, I redefined things and played like my dead grandmother.

I threw away a 4-1, then 6-3 lead, to lose a nine-game match 8-9 (3-7) in tie break.  Confounding?  Yes.  Frustrating?  Indefinitely. 

For the past five practice matches, I've been having problems focusing on capitalizing on my leads.  Leading comes so easily---but once I reach the helm, my Duracell mysteriously drains.

Feeling for my forehand vanishes--starting first with the serves.  Double faulting to a 0-40 trail, or giving the game away on a silver platter.  This abnormality becomes a normality---a common, disturbing trend.  My mind relaxes, foolishly thinks it has time, and before I know it, my footwork, strokes, and worse of all, my thinking turns sloppy.

It really is just all about focus, isn't it?

*Snort.

Once I turn sloppy, it takes so much effort to bounce back.  I can be going through my routine---adjusting my strings in between points, focusing on my breathing, doing small foot shuffles between points.  But if I'm not thinking right, staying determined,... then...as I have learnt.

Everything assuredly falls to naught.

So I try.  I will try again tomorrow.