Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put it best when he said the key to winning a match is being “really, really strong in the head.” Now, this doesn’t mean that you should return serves with your skull, or replace the forehand with your forehead.

What he means is that, when you get to a certain skill level in tennis, like that found in the US Open, the physical differences aren’t all that pronounced.

It’s the mental strength and tennis strategy that separates the “Djokovics” (ranked no.1) from the non-Djokovics (…the rest).

Tsonga says, “My game, you know, is very good when I have nothing in my head, when I just play my game.” Again, this doesn’t mean he’s not thinking when he’s out there.

It just means that he’s not thinking about anything else but the game at hand. He’s being strong in the head and is mentally tough.  He’s ignoring that suspicious charge on his bank statement. He’s blocking out the show that he forgot to Tivo.

He’s ignoring the fan in the crowd with the really weird Flock of Seagulls haircut. He’s in Zen Tennis mode: Zennis Mode.

Even Novak Djokovic says, “There’s not much difference between No. 78 player  in the world and Nos. 2,3,1,5.” This is quite a statement, considering Novak IS number 1!

What does he mean exactly?  He’s talking about the fact that, physically, all of these stellar athletes (…Andy Roddick, Donald Young, John Isner, Serena Williams etc.)  are relatively around the same skill level. A slightly faster serve here, a slightly better ground stroke there; that’s it.

What separates Novak from his pursuers is his mastery of the mental game and tennis strategy. “It takes mental ability to handle the pressure, to play well at the right moments, and that’s why I think there is a certain difference with top-10 players,” says Novak.

When he’s on the court, all Djokovic is thinking about is the match and the tennis strategy needed to win it. He isn’t thinking about the charges he made with Tsonga’s bank card or the botched up backhand from the point before .

Now, to go even further, simply managing your mental game isn’t enough.  You must MASTER  it!  Like any physical muscle, you’ve got to keep working on your mental muscles.

Novak’s Thoughts On Mental Tennis Strategy…

Djokovic himself believes mental tennis strategy is the ticket, “I think mental strength is something you get over the years playing on the tour, getting experience, and using that experience in the right way.”

Like Novak, I believe the also best way to work those mental muscles out and achieve “Zennis” is by consistently competing.

Nadal’s Thoughts On Mental Tennis Strategy:

And this idea doesn’t stop with the face of Serbian and French tennis. It’s very well alive in Spain as well.  Rafael Nadal knows this as well as anybody.

He says, “If you watch the No.10 player in the world and the No.500 in training, you won’t necessarily be able to tell who is higher up in the rankings.  Without the pressure of competition, they’ll move and hit the ball much the same way.”

And here’s where it gets interesting.  Nadal and Djokovic squared off in Wimbledon earlier this year and you could easily see that the match wasn’t fought on the court so much as it was fought inside their frontal and posterior lobes.

Djokovic’s brain ended up winning, but you’d better believe that it took every last bit of gray matter to ensure the victory. And why not? After all, in tennis, Gray Matters!

Of course, it can be tough to keep the brain focused on the court, even when you’re winning. And if you’re losing, this is where it really helps to master mental strength (…or relaxation).

Wozniacki is living proof that your mental tennis strategy MUST be top notch:

Caroline Wozniacki is living proof of this concept. Her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova looked like a sure defeat at first; she was down 4-1 in the second set after losing the first set 6-7.

But Wozniacki is ranked number 1 for a good reason -  her “mental mojo.” And wouldn’t you know it, she started to remember the mental aspect of the game and came back to win 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 in a 3 hour comeback spectacular.

When asked how she managed to pull off this feat, she simply said what any child knows: “It’s important to stay positive. Tennis is a funny sport. You just have to keep going.”

Thus, Wozniaki became the little engine that DID! She isn’t necessarily stronger or faster than Kuznetsova, but she has the training and mental ability to play the right shot at the perfect time and relax (…rather than become tight) when things become overwhelming. Sure enough, she kept her no. 1 ranking and reminded us of why she’s on top.

So, as you’re watching the rest of the US Open and taking notes, pay attention to more than just the powerful strokes and pounding serves. Watch for the strategy and and critical mental tennis tactics being carefully executed.

After all, your mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. Check out our TMC Mental Strategy Secrets 101 (…19 H-OU-R-S of kick-butt tennis tips, tricks, and tennis strategy) and beef up your mental game like the big boys, so you can play like one of your favs at the US Open.

There have been many great rivalries throughout history: Lakers vs. Celtics,  Ali vs. Frazier, Charlie Sheen vs. Sanity, Ben Stiller vs. Typecasting.

But these rivalries all pale in comparison to the slug-fest between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer that took place on Sunday, as Nadal won his sixth French Open.

Federer, as many of us know, has sixteen grand slam trophies under his belt (…he’s got a really big belt), but lately he has been haunted in his nightmares by the unstoppable Clay Monster, Rafael Nadal.

Though Nadal cites Federer as being the greatest to ever play the game, this might just be because Federer is the one guy who Nadal seems to wallop every time the two are on the court together.

In head-to-heads, Nadal’s record is 17-8 against Federer, a number that no doubt is spray-painted onto the wall of Federer’s psyche.

Nadal Fantastic In French Open 2011, Perfect Against Federer

When it comes to the French Open though, Nadal’s record against Federer is now 5-0. And this year’s bout was particularly grisly. Federer started off “strong like bull” and netted a 5-2 lead over Nadal.

At this point, Federer was no doubt pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t in a dream. On the other side of the court, however, Nadal was pinching his own arm to wake himself up. He quickly rallied back to win the first set 7-5.

The turning point in this set was when Federer lost his chance at a critical set point, thanks to a wide drop shot. Somewhere else in the crowd, a nickel also dropped.

The next seven games were all Nadal, featuring guest star Federer running around in the background, cursing his unlucky stars. But get this, even during this routing, Nadal was beatable.

His ground strokes weren’t consistent. And even his manager/uncle said that his playing was a bit too tentative. Nadal was up 5-4, 40-30, but Federer forced deuce. It was only with extreme effort (…ad a little luck) that Nadal took the second set.

One wonders, if the match weren’t at Roland Garros (…the French Open) and thus not on the red clay that Nadal is known to excel at, would Federer have won?

Well, this is kind of like saying that if the Titanic had more boats, then Leo and Kate would still be together, but it did in fact look like Federer was going to come back.

He came back in the second set, only to lose 7-6 (3) but in the third set he came back from 4-2 to win the set 7-5.

Federer’s Final Set, Nadal Wins 6th French Open:

In the fourth set of the French Open final, Federer was still in prime shape, as if he had shrugged off his demons and told them to expect an icy winter at St. Peters. He quickly made it love-40 and the crowd became as quiet as a mute church mouse.

Unfortunately, the salad days were about to be spoiled. Nadal regained his poise and started once again delivering his masterful high bouncing forehands, making Federer goof up his backhands to the point of no return.

After that, Nadal easily took his sixth French Open, tying him with tennis superstar Borg.

Now, could Federer have won if his mental game was a bit sharper? Rafael certainly gave him plenty of opportunities. But is it just as possible that Nadal is just better than Federer?

Is he the David Lee Roth to Federer’s Sammy Hagar? One thing is certain. The only French Open that Federer ever won was the year that Nadal couldn’t face him due to elimination.

But even that could just be mental, as you will also note that Federer is 14-1 in Grand Slam finals that aren’t played against the terrifying Spaniard.

Perhaps it is a combination of the two, but the fact of the matter is that Nadal is heading to Wimbledon with an even bigger belt than he had before.

For more on the French Open, click here.

For 19 hours of kick butt tennis lessons, tennis tips, and strategies that’ll have your opponent screaming uncle, visit this page.

- Brian
TennisMindCamp

Congratulations on making it to this post! You’ve already taken the first step to winning the first ever contest offered here at TMC – The French Open Duralast Derby!

What do you get if you win?

First off, I’m sure you guys are enjoying the awesome display being put on at the French Open 2009 so far, am I right? Who do you think is going to win it all?

Even though Raffa is out, he’s still the best in my opinion. And needless to say, his losing to Soderling had nothing to do with his choice in equipment. He’s a very “picky” and selective player when it comes to his rackets and string.

The reason I mention that is we all know, especially since we’ve been talking about it recently, that a player’s equipment (…the strings being a huge part) can and does make a humongous difference in the level of success he experiences out there on the court. The clay court master is no different.

I believe success imitates success. Now, everyone knows Nadal plays with Babolat, but a lot of players test and try things out, then change their equipment a couple of weeks to a few months later. I wanted to make sure this wasn’t the case with Raffa.

So, After doing some research, I found out that Raffa not only plays with this particular brand, he’s so confident in the feel and performance, he’s signed a whopping 10 year contract with them!

So I figured, why not go with what the champion of that clay surface uses to defeat some of the best players in the world and has vowed never to switch from for the next decade. Sound good to you? I thought so…wink

That’s right, when you win, you’ll be able to string your racket with the same exact stuff that Raphael “Raffa” Nadal uses for every heart-stopping performance – Babolat “Tour Duralast!”

Yes, when he beat Mr. Federer in that classic match at Wimbeldon, he was using these very same strings.  When he won his last 4 French Opens, he was playing with these strings.

Babolat markets other strings such as “pro hurricane/ pro hurricane tour” which if you look closely, are a different shade of yellow and transparency than that of the strings he plays with.

These are the real deal…

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Well, our main goal is to help many more serious tennis players just like you reach their goals of winning more matches, but sadly we can’t do it alone.

We need your help. But this where it gets easy. All you have to do is let people know about this awesome tennis resource, and the championship strings are yours.

You can simply post our link or you’re welcome to use some of the hot new banners I had my designer whip up just for you. It’s a simple copy and paste job. It’s really quick and easy.

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Hot Banners: http://tennismindcamp.com/hotbanners.html

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You can post on tennis related sites online like forums and social networking sites like:

1. Myspace

2. Facebook

3. Tennisforum.com

4. Tennisw.com

5. Hi5.com

6. Tennis4you.com

7. And the thousands others!

You can even print out basic flyers from your computer, whatever is easiest for you and can help you get the word out to more people.

Email me personally at webmaster@tennismindcamp.com with some proof of where you’ve been spreading the word (…links, pics, etc).

The player with the highest amount of proofs by the June 17th deadline will WIN the championship strings used by arguably the best clay court player ever to hold a racket… It’s that simple!

If you have any questions or concerns about how you can increase your winning chances, feel free to email me at webmaster@tennismindcamp.com

And if I know my members, as I do, many of them have already gotten started! So, you don’t have any time to waste. The clock is ticking, and the 2 week deadline is already counting down.

Good Luck!

Brian Hall, Head Coach
TennisMindCamp
webmaster@tennismindcamp.com

World #1, Rafael “Raffa” Nadal, was chosen on Friday to join his friends on the Spanish national team where they’ll face Serbia in the opening round of the 2009 Davis Cup (March 6th – March 8th).

Nadal was forced to pull out of another tournament, the Dubai Tennis Championships, in order to be well-healed from his nagging right knee injury in time for these international games.

If the fans get what they want, they’ll be in store for a world of a match, due to the fact that Novak Djokovic is likely to meet the Spanish sensation as early as the 1st round!

And after finishing the Davis cup, Rafael still is not done. You’ll be able to catch him at Indian Wells!