Caroline Wozniacki has made it in to the last 64 of the US Open with a win in her first round. She still doesnt seem to be as confident as she should. Anyways, here is her comments after her first round match and what she needs to do if she plans on competing with Serena Williams and other big hitters.
I watched Maria Sharapova in her three set victory over Heather Watson on the opening day of the 2011 US Open. Her coordination was erratic. She had almost twice the unforced errors of Watson (58 to 30) and four times the number of double faults (8 to 2). Yet, she had a lot more aces (5 to 0) and winners (41 to 9) than Watson.
Of course, she had other match statistics which show us an erratic performance, but you can get the picture from these. Sharapova was the winner, but she was erratic. She is a great player and because of that she was able to win in spite of her poor coordination. As I watched the match, I saw her shift back and forth between poor and good coordination. Sometimes she was on and sometimes she was off.
For many tennis players, poor coordination or an erratic performance is the difference between winning and losing a match. What causes lapses into poor coordination or this kind of erratic performance and what can a player do about it?
In my former TTT post about Improving Coordination, I talked about a player’s level of rhythm and timing as the basis of their level of coordination (and accuracy). Tennis players test and reinforce their rhythm and timing by bouncing the ball before their serve and swaying or dancing before they receive a serve. This is a good test of their current state of coordination and when their rhythm and timing are in good condition, it is a good way to reinforce that state.
Emotional State: Calm confidence is generally the best emotional state for maintaining the highests levels of the coordination which comes from excellent rhythm and timing. Any other emotion can rob the player of their best set of resources. This is why Sharapova has her ritual between each point in a game. This helps her regain her calm confidence.
We see many players lose their calm confidence after a bad line call (or some other perceived problem) and some get so stuck in that upset state that they cannot play well enough to continue to win the match. Emotions like fear, anger, and dread interfere with the athletes signal transmission and processing equipment and change the rhythm at which the athletes brain is operating. One of the most common reactions involves acceleration of these processes and that changes the athletes rhythm and timing.
Some athletes seem to have better performance when they are angry (Nadal) and others seem to fall apart (Serena Williams, Andy Roddick). But, most athletes lose the match when they lose that calm confidence.
Hydration, Nutrition And Conditioning: Of course, hydration, nutrition and conditioning play a part in the maintenance of our effective rhythm and timing. If you have not effectively prepared your body for the match, your body may not have the physical resources to perform effectively. Your rhythm and timing is not only related to your conditioning, if you don’t have the appropriate hydration and nutrition, you body may need to shut down to survive.
Environmental Factors: This can include the weather and temperature and we all know that when conditions are too hot (or cold or wet or dry) it can affect the players performances. But, there are other environmental conditions which can affect the athletes performance.
Do you remember the ATP Rome tournament a couple of years ago when many players came down with some kind of flu-like illness? My belief is that something happened in the environment at that tourney which affected many of the players. My guess is that the players dressing rooms were freshly painted or had new carpeting or something like that. I have seen this kind of response in organizations, schools, and businesses, where some new chemical has been added to the environment and many people have flu-like symptoms in reaction to these chemicals.
Our reactions to environmental factors do not have to be raised to the level of illness for us to have our performance affected. Many athletes lose their good rhythm and timing because they are responding to some factor in their environment. This is one of the significant reasons why athletes can have really great coordination (rhythm and timing) in one match and the next day they have lost their coordination.
I believe that this susceptibility to environmental factors is one of the main reasons that many high level athletes have a rigid structure in their tournament lifestyle. They like to stay in the same room at the same hotel and eat the same foods and wear the same clothes. Many call it superstition, but for me it is a desire to keep all the environmental factors under control.
One of the things we know that Sharapova does between each play in the game is walk away from the court, look at her racquet, and make a fist with her left hand. My guess is that she is using a technique to focus her mind and to connect to a state of excellent performance before the next serve. She has done this technique for years and overall it seems to be working for her.
But, when a player’s rituals are not working, what can they do to get back on track with their state? I can suggest a few things which will help break these inappropriate states for you.
Stop Your Stinking Thinking: If you have lost your calm confidence, that is the most important thing you need to recover to to be able to get back on track. If you hold on to your anger, fear, dread or other emotion which is interfering with your match, you must stop thinking what you are thinking (which is holding you in that inappropriate emotional state). One aspect of being in the wrong emotional state is compulsive and repetitive thoughts which hold you there. You have to take control of your thoughts and erase what you have been thinking from your mind.
If you don’t know how to stop your stinking thinking, There are professionals who can teach you how to do that. Of course, it is difficult to learn this during a match. You know if you are prone to stinking thinking, you should learn these techniques so you know how to stop it during your matches.
Develop And Use An Anchor For An Excellent State: This is what I think Sharapova does when she makes a fist with her left hand before each serve. She has connected a high-performance emotional state to the experience of that fist with her non-dominant hand. You really need someone who knows what they are doing to help you establish this anchor for you. Ask around to get someone to help you do this. You will find it very helpful for you to get back on track.
Racquet-Tap To Reset Your Energy System: Tap your racquet as if to test the tension of the strings. But, don’t tap it with your palm. Use the side of your hand (like a karate chop) and tap the strings at least 5 times. Don’t do it so hard that you hurt your hand (or your racquet). There are energy meridian points on your hand which you stimulate with this activity and this resets aspects of your energy systems. This is very helpful when your coordination is off and you can do this before every serve until you have got your rhythm and timing back on track.
Splash Cold Water On Your Face: If you recognize that you are losing (or have lost) your rhythm and timing, splash cold water on your face when you take your rests. This is is usually more powerful than the Racquet-Tap to get your rhythm and timing back on track.
It is common for your rhythm and timing to come and go during a match. But, these tools and techniques can help you get back on track.
Here are the thoughts of the press about the US Open 2011 chances of Serena Williams.
There was a very interesting article in the New York Times about Taylor Townsend. Taylor is only 15 and competing in the US Open 2011 qualifying. Taylor didnt make it through the qualifying event, but she did manage to impress a lot of people.
Richard Williams:
I think she’s better than my daughters at that time.
That is very high praise! It will be interesting to see Taylor progress in the rest of her tennis career.
The injury list for the US Open is growing by the day, so it is going to be a very interesting tournament. The only top male player not on the list is Roger Federer.
Womens injuries so far:
This is a great highlights video of the 2011 Rogers Cup final between Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur.
The new WTA Tour rankings are out and here is what has changed after the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
The complete top ten according to the August 15 rankings is below:
1. Caroline Wozniacki
2. Vera Zvonareva
3. Kim Clijsters
4. Victoria Azarenka
5. Na Li
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Maria Sharapova
8. Francesca Schiavone
9. Marion Bartoli
10. Samantha Stosur
Serena Williams won the Rogers Cup in Toronto and she is now 31st in the world rankings.
This week is the Cincinnati tournament in which we will see Serena Williams possibly play Samanthat Stosur in the second round.
Here are some pics of what dress Serena is going to wear at this year’s US Open.
I’m guessing the blue one is for night matches and the pink one is for day matches since Serena wore a darker shaded dress for night matches in her last appearance at the US Open. Can’t wait to see it on the tennis court!
Former World No. 1 Serena Williams defeated Marion Bartoli for her first title since her comeback after a long year of injuries and illnesses. The American eased past the Frenchwoman after coming from behind in the first set, and earning the Bank of the West Classic title on Sunday with a score of 7-5 6-1.
“You can see the growth in her game, and also she’s such a nice person. Thank you for being sweet. That’s really nice.”, Serena said about Marion at the trophy presentation.
Going into the tournament, Williams was No. 169 in the world, but after beating top players such as Sharapova and Bartoli, her ranking has lifted to No. 79 in the world.
“I hated those triple digits. Now I’ve got to get to single digits.”, Serena said, chuckling, about her ranking.
ongratulations, Serena!
And welcome back to the winner’s circle!
Anastasia Rodionova gets a very big tennis lesson after her 6-0 6-0 loss to Serena Williams at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford. It is very rare that you see a 6-0 6-0 loss in professional tennis and its quite sad for Rodionova.
The only thing I didnt like about the win is that Serena looked very cocky and even being a smart-ass at times.
Currently ranked number five in the world, Maria Sharapova sat down at Stanford’s Bank of the West Classic to talk about how her career has turned out, what difficulties she faced during her life, and what she thinks of the events that happen in between tournaments.
At age four, her father Yuri gave her a tennis racquet and she doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t playing tennis. She has never wanted to leave the sport behind once she stepped into adulthood and she never hated the sport ever since she started playing.
“There is no reason to and although you have difficult moments, it’s a pretty good gig and we are fortunate to do what we do,” Sharapova said at Stanford’s Bank of the West Classic, where she is the second seed. “You have your moments of frustrations growing up when your friends can catch the 10 p.m. movie and you have to catch the 6-7 p.m. movie even though you want to go with them, but you can’t because you have to wake up and practice. But it’s worth it when you lift the trophies and receive the texts and emails and well wishes.”
“Even though I’m constantly thinking of wanting to win and improving, when I’m at home I’m really happy and settled into my life,” she said. “I don’t feel like I need to go to a red carpet event for people to see me and notice me and I don’t feel my career is in the hands of someone who can put me on the cover of a magazine. I think those are really big worries that [other] people have and it’s tough to live like that. I’m fortunate my career is driven from something I created with my own hands, whether I win or lose. That’s what keeps me sane.”
As the second seeded player at Stanford, Maria has an opportunity to meet Serena Williams in the quarters. But she should also watch out for defending champ and top seeded Victoria Azarenka who wants to give herself a title as her birthday gift this Sunday. The only way for Maria to stop her is beat her in the final, if they do meet.
Anastasia Rodionova is the player who will have to take on Serena Williams in the first round at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford. Rodionova has struggled previously with Williams, so it will be interesting to see if she can get the upperhand in this clash.
Williams has been struggling for form lately and needs to get some important match wins under her belt before heading to the US Open in the coming months.
It seemed to be all laughs between Serena Williams and Martina Hingis at last nights WTT event. However, it was not so long ago when they were not the best of friends.
Serena Williams will be using her protected ranking to enter the US Open 2011 in a few months time. This was officially announced by the USTA yesterday.
Only the top 105-ranked players in the world are granted direct entry into the draw and Serena’s ranking is currently at 172 in the world.
I really hope she can get in a lot of training in the next month or so and be fully fit and ready to go for the US Open 2011.
It seems like Serena Williams will need either a wild card or use her protected ranking to be able to play at the US Open 2011. Serena’s ranking is currently 175 in the world and this would mean that she might get into qualify with this ranking.
If a player is out with an injury for more than six month they can receive a protected ranking. Thus, when they return to tour they can use this ranking to get into tournaments they were previously playing. When Serena received her protected ranking she was the world number 1.
This is the dress that Serena will be wearing this year at Wimbledon.
And this is the dress Maria Sharapova will wear at the event this year.
It was all glamour at the Pre-Wimbledon Party of 2011. The women stars of the game got dressed up and this year it was particuarly interesting with each of the players wearing an outfit that was designed by a British designer. Let’s take a look at some of the girls who headlined the show.
Jelena Jankovic wore a Vivienne Westwood dress
Ana Ivanovic wore a Matthew Williamson dress
Maria Sharapova wore an all Alexander McQueen ensemble.
Serena Williams wore a Burberry gown.
Betanie Mattek-Sands surprised everyone with a dress made by one of Lady Gaga’s designers
Caroline Wozniacki wore a Stella McCartney dress and who also designs her on-court dresses as well.
Other players who were at the party include Li Na (wore Giles Deacon); Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (wore David Koma); Andrea Petkovic (wore Richard Nicoll); Heather Watson (wore Mulberry); and Laura Robson (wore Temperley). Nicholas Kirkwood provided shoes for the occasion.
Here is a great video of the Williams sisters training at Eastbourne in the lead up to Wimbledon.
Serena Williams is scheduled to make her return to professional tennis today. Williams will compete in the Eastbourne tournament and is amazingly happy to be back playing tennis after her illness layoff.
Expect both Williams sisters to be strong contenders again at this years Wimbledon that starts next week.
Serena Williams will be back and fit for Wimbledon starting in a few weeks time. Serena will be playing Eastbourne and then on to Wimbledon.
“I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete again. These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building.
I have so much to be grateful for. I’m thankful to my family, friends, and fans for all of their support. Serena’s back!”
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