The mind body connection is one that has been explored for many years. But a lot of us think of it as flowing from the mind to the body.

“A champions mind” is about how Sampras had the ability to simply elevate his game under pressure. Everyone talks about Nadal as being the toughest mentally.

But what if it is the other way around. What if it is actually physical toughness that is leading the way?

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Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon title against Tomas Berdych today and his 8th Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal beats Tomas Berdych for the Wimbledon 2010 title / Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

I watched the whole match and here are some of my thoughts that I wrote down during the match…

I knew that Nadal would play solid tennis at the start of the match. So my focus was on Berdych as I was looking to see any signs of pressure.

I was looking at the rhythm of shots from the baseline, how clean was Berdych hitting the ball and whether he’d go for the shots when he had an opening and whether he would be successful. (more…)

Rafael Nadal is one of the best players in the world because he has a very smart plan on how to play key points.

The perfect example of that were the two tie-breaks he won against Nicolas Almagro today in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.

The first tie-break was played in a very controlled way (playing high percentage tennis) but the second tie-break was a masterpiece of tactics and intelligence.

Rafael Nadal hits a forehand against Nicolas Almagro / Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Here’s what happened: (more…)

Rafael Nadal has beaten Roger Federer for the 14th time in their 21st meeting at the Madrid Masters 2010 by 6-4, 7-6 (7:5).

It was a rematch of the Federer-Nadal 2009 Madrid final which Roger won 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer in the final of the Madrid 2010 / Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Rafa and Roger have not played since last year’s final and it was evident that they were both searching for the most effective tactic against each other.

I’ve analyzed the match and here are some interesting facts when it comes to unforced errors: (more…)

If you’ve ever watched the coin toss at the start of the match when Rafael Nadal is one of the players on court, you’ve definitely noticed his sprint to the baseline after the players decide on which side they’ll play and who will serve first.

I believe there is a reason why Nadal starts his warm up in that way as I have personally done a few similar things before matches to get into the right state.

The following article will explain what the state is, why we have three different responses to perceived threats and how we can trigger the right one to perform well at the start of the match.

Did you know that your performance at the beginning of the match depends almost entirely on your state?

State can simply be described by how you feel (tense, relaxed, activated, …) and what is your mental state (calm, alert, upset, …). (more…)

I just ran across this article on Wozniacki by James Martin of Tennis.com. On the surface, the article might appear to equate offense with power. “She needs to hit harder and go for more winners.’ But if you read a little deeper you will see that there is more to it than that.

James Martin also talks about a mindset.  It is an assertive mindset that distinguishes the true champions.  Sampras does not have the most powerful serve. Federer does not have the most powerful strokes. They hit hard but there are others who can hit harder.

They both have fluidity and variety. In fact, if you think about Federer, Sampras and McEnroe everyone would agree they have incredible hands. So does Borg and so does Nadal. It is not as natural but they have used variety to augment their games.

And all of them used offense.   But the overall theme of the article seems to bottle up the essence of a higher level of tennis.

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Rafael Nadal has announced just a three days before the Wimbledon 2009 that has will not play. While withdrawing from a tournament because of an injury is the right thing to do for a professional tennis player who plans to play many more years, Nadal said a few things that don’t sound very professionally.

He just lost an exhibition match to Stanislas Wawrinka and said:” Today was the last test. I didn’t feel terrible but not close to my best. I’m just not 100 percent. I’m better than I was a couple of weeks ago, but I just don’t feel ready.”

Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon 2009 - Photo by AP

Nadal also lost an exhibition match a day before against Lleyton Hewitt. If it were only the knees holding him back, that would make nothing controversial but this statement in my opinion may be controversial: “When I start a tournament like Wimbledon, it is to try to win,” the No. 1-ranked Nadal said, “and my feeling right now is I’m not ready to play to win.”

This is something a top player should not say. (more…)

Rafael Nadal losing at the French Open 2009 Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal’s hopes of winning another French Open in 2009 are finished.

Robin Soderling has played an excellent match and managed to dethrone the king of clay by 3 sets to 1.

I didn’t see the match today (only the last tie-break) so I cannot comment much, but from what I saw, Soderling played the right tactics; attack Nadal’s short balls and stay in the long rallies when he had to.

I believe Nadal got this aura of getting everything back and passing on every ball, but that’s of course not true.

He is just a human and doesn’t get every ball back and doesn’t pass you every time you come to the net.

Soderling showed no fear of Nadal’s passing shots and scrambling ability and kept attacking the same way as he would any other player.

Soderling played the ball and not the name. That’s an important lesson for every tennis player who competes in tournaments. (more…)

Roger Federer got the better of Rafael Nadal in today’s final of the Madrid Masters 2009. And this win was a long time coming…

Roger wins against Nadal on clay Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The last time Federer beat Nadal was in 2007 Masters Cup semifinal, when Roger won 6:4, 6:1.

If you want to check all the matches they played, then see this excellent article about the Federer – Nadal rivalry at the atpworldtour.com. (more…)

Rafael Nadal has again won the final against Novak Djokovic, this time in Rome. Nadal already won in Monte Carlo against Djokovic and is of course the current #1 player in the world.

But I don’t like to see him there. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve his #1 spot.

He does, but not because he beats his opponents with better tennis, but because his opponents beat themselves.

I would like to see the best player in the world to be a better player than his opponents.

He should be able to attack and exploit all types of weakness and be able to win points in a variety of ways. Roger Federer is the perfect example of what a #1 player in the world should play like.

Roger Federer is able to play any tactic he wants and he can play any shot he wants – and of course he is a master of all of them.

But Rafael Nadal plays different tennis.

The tie-break of the first set in the Rome 2009 final is a great example how Nadal plays and how he wins. I’ll break it down shot by shot so that you can see what goes on… (more…)