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Why did Gilles Mueller lose in the quarters of the US Open 2008? |
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Written by Sergio Cruz
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What can we learn from Gilles Mueler performance at the US open?
BE INSPIRED!
First I must explain that this is a quick article and it’s not critical of Gilles, I only have praise for him, he did a fantastic job to get where he got at the US Open!
The reason for this tennis instruction article is purely to bring your attention that Gilles case is exceptional at the US Open ATP level, but it happens almost every week in tennis tournaments around the world.
What do these situations have in common?
- Unexpectedly a player beats a top seed in a tournament on an early round.
- Moves on to win another 2 or 3 rounds and is in the quarters or semis.
What happened until then?
The player had nothing to lose felt great, played great, served fantastic and hit winning shots to every corner of the court overcame almost impossible odds and won matches that normally he would have lost.
Now he is in the quarter final (we go back to Gilles) of a major, the US Open 2008.
What happened to Gilles Mueller?
Without taking merit away from a Roger Federer that fought very hard and who played some outstanding shots very few would have ever played under such tremendous pressure.
Unlike on previous matches, this time Gilles thought and knew that he had a real chance to beat Roger Federer and this was his main undoing.
In this quarter-final, for the first time Gilles showed signs of nervousness and pressure from within:
- In some mistakes (a few of them relatively meaningless) he started shacking his head in a negative mode (revealing what was going on inside).
- He banged the racket on the ground in signs of frustration.
- He was not allowing himself to make mistakes and turn away from them like he was doing on previous rounds.
- He merely overplayed shots that he would have been more conservative with in other matches.
- His shot selection became blurred at times. (wanting to do too much with the ball)
The reason was simple, previous to the quarter final match, he had raised his expectations and therefore created the pressure on himself that lead to his downfall.
Of course that fatigue played a role in Gilles game and performance, but we must be aware, that it was not fatigue that lost it, because Gilles was ever present and dangerous throughout the match, it was rather those moments where you need to stay positive and he did not, where you need to be in a state of relaxed focus and he did not.
What is in this for all of us that will come across identical situations to Gilles in a lower level and who knows, perhaps at the same level?
Do not let the media circus, agents, friends and family or coaches influence you and create the mental pressures you do not need. Take it as it comes, stay focused, but stay relaxed at the same time. The ability to balance the last two is the key to maximum performance.
Play your game and enjoy every moment you are on that tennis court, mistakes or no mistakes, just fight to the end and you will always be a winner no matter what the final outcome is.
Sergio Cruz
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