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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?

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