Playing players who are worse than you

[fedex27]

i just lost to a player who i so much better than. he challanged me and i lost. i get nervous playing players who i know i am better than and im the only one that has something to lose. i start trying not to lose instead of trying to win. how can i change my focus?

[kevhen]

You are not better than him if your nerves are worse than his. Maybe cut down on the caffeine intake to settle your nerves, and try to focus on getting balls back if your opponent is weaker than you. His consistency shouldn't be as high as yours if he is weaker.

[ferrari_827]

The main thing is to just use your head, and not think things will be handed to you on a platter. Analyze the opponents weaknesses and what you need to do, then do it without any emotion or fuss.

[iplaythementalgame]

You are not better than him if your nerves are worse than his.

You were too nice. The fact of the matter is that he is not better period. It doesn't matter what the reason is, if someone beats you, he/she is better than you. When you lose, then you have an opportunity to learn what your weaknesses are and then go practice them. A better mindset would be this. If you lose to a certain type of player, then you should want to play against those kind of players as much as possible so that you can improve. Having the thoughts that you are better when you have lost is not reality as others on this forum have said very well.

[mach1]

You were too nice. The fact of the matter is that he is not better period. It doesn't matter what the reason is, if someone beats you, he/she is better than you.


Just because you lose to someone doesnt mean they are better than you. Unless maybe they have been beating you consistently.
Can you honestly say that Henman is better than federer because he has a 6-4 record against him. Just because you lose doesnt mean the person is better than you.

For you gstring, I have a question. What do you think about when you are screwing up. What do your strategies change to when in that position? Do you play conservative and hold back or just try to kill the ball?

[Fred132]

I find that unless I step up, go all out and hit my shots with authority, I can lose to just about anybody.

It's all or nothing. The "try not to lose" mindset will get you beat every time.

Hit your best shots, focusing on and enjoying the process rather worrying about the outcome. If he can handle your best strokes, more power to him. He deserves to win.

[Slash]

this same thing has happened to me the whole entire year. i suggest that you do some mental training.

[slice bh compliment]

Was it the great Allen Fox who wrote the book, "IF I'M THE BETTER PLAYER, WHY CAN'T I WIN?"

[Exile]

Try not to lose = Try not to win

Fred is right, it is all or nothing, there is nothing inbetween.

Why are you *****footing around when you can just take the match and get it over with?

The way it works, you are not really trying to play, the other guy is.
So when you are afraid to play good and the other guy is trying to win, you really don't have a mouse's chance in a snake pit.

So if you find yourself down, play like you have nothing to lose.
If you feel like you are going to lose anyway, just go for broke and play all the shots that you never would have played before.

If they are lower than you, show them they are lower than you (just don't trash talk or anything like that).

EDIT:

Apparently, the word Pus(s)yfooting is a filterable word.

Noted and will not do THAT again.

[Rickson]

Confidence is the key to success. You lose confidence because you know you're supposed to win. You should just play your opponent with confidence and put your nerves aside. Just remember that your nervousness is your downfall and if you have confidence in your strokes, you can beat your friend no matter what.

[Mahboob Khan]

And this is an answer to those who prefer to (always) play against better players!

If you want to develop as a player, you should play against three types of opponents:

-- Equal ability (50-50% chance; equal fight)

-- Weaker ability (you can learn by serve and volley, chip and charge)

-- superior ability (you feel the punch).

[Ken]

mach1 - You are EXACTLY right. On that given day, Henman IS better than Federer. I don't care if he doesn't have all the forehand variety and power, if he doesn't have the allcourt genius -not many people can claim they've beaten and hold a positive record against Fed. So...on those days, there is no doubt in my mind that Henman is better.

If you can figure out an opponents game, turn it against him, manage to nullify it and beat him -that means you're better. As stated by other people, this is what allowed Brad Gilbert to be so successful.

At the pro level, you don't necessarily need all the strokes. They only go so far.

[C_Smith]

Biggest thing for me= start out big. my first serve of the match, i wanna show my oppinent what hes in for. Next thing is never never never give up. You know the kid is worst than you, you can easily make a run, and get back in it even if you are down big. Make sure you dictate the play, if your just defending against his attack the whole time your not gonna win.

[Exile]

The only bad thing about starting big is that you can only GO DOWN after that. If they can handle the crap you send at the beginning then at the end of the match what will be left?

So if you start out big they think "ok I have to work now."
So they start working. You don't realize it, but you start trying to play ABOVE yourself. This doesn't work well.

It's like psyching yourself to be something you are not.
And in the end your opponent sees that you are getting alot weaker than before and tends to capitalize, if you haven't been going too big and handing the games away.

Balance is the key to pwnage.

[Jack the Hack]

I've been playing tournament tennis for 20 years now, and I have seen all kinds of opponents. What I have learned is that you can never tell a book by it's cover...

Take on every opponent with equal respect, no matter how cr@ppy or how great they may look. Old guy with a limp and "hacker" ground strokes? He may have the heart of a lion, years of competitive experience, and fight you tooth and nail for every point. Young guy with huge groundies and a serve? He may fall apart if you can just get an early lead...

The key word here is RESPECT. Have respect for the fact that any opponent is capable of winning on any given day and get over yourself. Focus instead on the best strategy to win and make it happen.

Play your best tennis without regard to who "should" win, and you'll be much happier with your results!

[iplaythementalgame]

[QUOTE=mach1]Just because you lose to someone doesnt mean they are better than you. Unless maybe they have been beating you consistently.
Can you honestly say that Henman is better than federer because he has a 6-4 record against him. Just because you lose doesnt mean the person is better than you. QUOTE]

As if happens many times, I didn't express myself very well. What I meant was that on that day he/she was better than you. You are absolutley correct. You would need to total up all the wins and losses over a period of time to determine who is truly better. I think I just assumed that he meant that he felt that the other player was never going to be better and that he felt that he should never lose. I hope this is more clear.

[kevhen]

Henman's style may be a tougher matchup for Federer's game, and hasn't Federer been winning their more recent matches. So Henman may have been winning when he was better than Federer but not anymore. Plus surface, weather conditions, etc may affect the pros games and help give Henman the edge on those days. Plus they are very close in skill. I don't think Federer thinks himself so good that he will never lose a match to another pro. But it sounds like you think you are vastly superior to your opponent and should never lose to them but did.

[obackvalobasha]

WHAT!!! So you think henmoan has same skills as federer? SO you think...

[Jack the Hack]

oback...

Not to jump to Kevhen's defense, but previous to '04, Federer did have a very poor record against Henman... Henman won 6 out of their first 7 matches! However, as we know, Federer has since jumped to another level and has won the last three matches against Tim.

I think Kevhen's point was that certain players can create matchup problems for another based on their game style. It doesn't mean they are a more accomplished player, but rather that tennis is a sport where no opponent should be overlooked.

[Geezer Guy]

I've been playing tournament tennis for 20 years now, and I have seen all kinds of opponents. What I have learned is that you can never tell a book by it's cover...

Take on every opponent with equal respect, no matter how cr@ppy or how great they may look. Old guy with a limp and "hacker" ground strokes? He may have the heart of a lion, years of competitive experience, and fight you tooth and nail for every point. Young guy with huge groundies and a serve? He may fall apart if you can just get an early lead...

The key word here is RESPECT. Have respect for the fact that any opponent is capable of winning on any given day and get over yourself. Focus instead on the best strategy to win and make it happen.

Play your best tennis without regard to who "should" win, and you'll be much happier with your results!

Great post Jack!