wheels falling off

[HFS]

Last night I was playing a league match against a junk-baller. Nothing but slices and dinking spinners. No angles, no pace. I handle him easily through the first set to go up 5-0. Then the wheels fall off. I couldn't serve out the set. Double faults kick in. I barely win the set, but my serve goes to hell. Every shot I hit either goes into the net or lands two feet off the baseline. I went on to lose the whole match. I haven't had this happen in a long time. The turtle went into its shell. Does this happen to anyone else? Is there a support group for this?

[AlpineCadet]

You were up 5-0? Something must have triggered you to do such a 180. You should def. play more matches against this guy to help calm your mental game.

[JoelDali]

Its all in yer head...more matches. Confidence in your shots.

Your opponent is the ball. Not the junkballing jackass.

[Oldracquet27]

How come did you lose? Also, why that style of play bother you so much. if you are a good player you should know how to handle low spinny balls. Do you know how to slice back? Do you have variety in your game? , if you do, then slices is part of your arsenal, and therefore, you should not feel so mad about somebody who hits it. Actually it should be kind of a nice competition to see who is the spinner master, which is not something easy to do since it requires nice touch. If you don't, then you are probably a one dimensional player maybe?? Just a thought.....

[JT_2eighty]

There was one time I did the same thing in a friendly match. Was up 5-0, I couldn't miss a shot. Then I don't know if I started to let up or what, but all of a sudden I lost the set 7-5. When those things happen, it's mental. You get confident, or start to hold back and play safe, and change your game and then can't get it back.

It's the double-edged sword of this game, it's never over until you've won.

[mikeler]

I came back from a 5-0 hole a few months ago. I think I won 10 straight games before my opponent got it back together.

[coloskier]

Usually what happens is when you get up 5-0, you get overconfident and either start overhitting or you back off too much. I would venture to say that it has happened to 90% of us. It is especially difficult against a dinker/pusher, because he just never misses unless you make a forceful shot against him. And sometimes you get too forceful, then start backing off and then you start making unforced errors. It's all in the head. If you are winning 5-0 you are doing something right, don't change it.

[Dave Mc]

I've only had this happen to me once about 20 years ago, but I learned my lesson, and it has never happened since. I try to think of it this way.... what would you do if you found yourself with your back against the wall at 0-5? Would you continue playing exactly the same way? No, you would double your efforts in consistency, and try your hardest to stay alive in every point. So when ever I have my opponent down 5-0 or 5-1 or 5-2, I completely expect him to get really solid, and perhaps even "tree out" to some degree. I expect all the points to get much longer and more difficult. I know that if I try to continue dominating points while he is playing at this elevated level, I will make mistakes, and my opponent's confidence will rise, and I'll be in trouble. So I forget about how I was dominating earlier in the set. I simply try to "match" his elevated play, shot for shot, no matter how long the rallies take. I want him to think that no matter how much harder he tries, I will not let him back into the set. Works for me, anyway. Good luck next time!

[Fed Kennedy]

Horrible situation. Happened to federer this summer vs tsonga.
Almost happened to me yesterday. I went up 4-0 in the second and let 5 consecutive games go. I was able to pull it out in a tiebreak but the self-loathing that crept up on me was crazy. Never let up!