Analysing ATP Tennis Players' Forehands! (Courtesy: ATP Tennis TV)(Apx. 8 & 1/2 mins.)

Analysing ATP Tennis Players' One-Handed Backhands! (Courtesy: ATP Tennis TV)(Apx. 6 & 1/2 mins.)

Rafael Nadal on the Mental Battle of the Match

The Match: A permanent battle to contain your own weaknesses and vulnerabilities from yourself and your rival. A self-created protective armor silencing your doubts and fears, and exaggerating your hopes. 

From: Rafa: My Story, by Rafael Nadal with John Carlin (Hyperion, 2011)

"During a match, you are in a permanent battle to fight back your everyday vulnerabilities, bottle up your human feelings. The more bottled up they are, the greater your chances of winning, so long as you’ve trained as hard as you play and the gap in talent is not too wide between you and your rival. The gap in talent with Federer existed, but it was not impossibly wide. It was narrow enough, even on his favorite surface in the tournament he played best, for me to know that if I silenced the doubts and fears, and exaggerated hopes, inside my head better than he did, I could beat him. You have to cage yourself in protective armor, turn yourself into a bloodless warrior. It’s a kind of self-hypnosis, a game you play, with deadly seriousness, to disguise your own weaknesses from yourself, as well as from your rival."

The Return of Roger Federer (Courtesy: ATP Tour) (Apx. 4 & 1/2 Mins.)