Roger Federer on being mentally weak
 |
| AFP/Getty Images |
In May 2003, Roger Federer was seeded fifth and had some positive thoughts about French Open.
“I remember going into the tournament feeling so confident,” Federer said, “going like, ‘I could win this thing. I’m playing so well at the moment.”‘
But he lost in the first round in straight sets to Luis Horna from Peru who was ranked 88th in the ATP rankings.
“I lost the first set and thought, ‘There’s no chance I’m coming back in this match. And if I do, with seven matches to play, there’s no way I’m going to win the French Open.’ All of a sudden, within 45 minutes, my whole dreams were shattered,” Federer recalled. “I was so weak mentally.”
What can we learn from this?
First of all; think about the thousands of matches Roger played, how much he learned from them to become top 10 player in the world and how mentally tough he must have been to get through many of the finals he played.
And yet, he still wasn’t that confident and able to control his thinking.
“I had to toughen up a bit, you know? It was just one of those moments when I finally realized I have to still change a few things,” Federer continued. “Because I thought I had everything figured out by then. But I didn’t.”
Yes, that’s where ego blinds you and you think you have figured out the tennis game. But what only few of the people are able to do, is to realize that they have been blinded and that they want to improve more than to be right.
Roger is one of those and he is constantly learning from his mistakes. Are you?
- Related posts:
