It happened at the US tennis open last September. It was the semi final between Federer and Djokovic at 40/15 on Federer's serve giving him 2 match points. Thanks to the tennis channel I have watched Djokovic's facial expression several times. He overcame the stress of being on the brink of losing the match with a "bring it on attitude." He pulled down the corners of his mouth, slowly nodded his head and squinted his eyes. If I were asked what I could have read in his mind it was: "Ok, this is now all or nothing, this requires a return that shall rock the house, I will either go down with the guns blazing, no regrets, or Federer is going to have his nerves ripped out of his brain on his first match point opportunity."
The latter is exactly what happened. The Serb ended up winning the semi to later take the entire tournament.
This is how one wins athletic competitions, whether it is in tennis, rowing or any other nerve gripping athletic discipline.
Xeno
Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.
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