Solid article. Focusing on strategy and revisiting my plan at the outset of each individual point is the best thing for helping me to avoid being overwhelmed by the weight of a situation.
Pressure is only something that we all manufacture in the space between our ears and I think that tension sneaks in for a lot of us if we decide to be distracted by the "pressure" of a "big point". I think that one of the worst things that one doubles partner can say to the other is something to the effect of, "Okay, we need this point!" The response that plays in my head is something like, "Gee, thanks chucklehead! Why don't you blindfold me and put 20 lb. weights on my ankles while you're at it!" Really now, just what point don't you need?
When I put my attention to the only thing that matters - the point I have to play right now - it doesn't matter if I'm down break point or two points away from winning a big match. The only thing that's riding on any given point is nothing more than that point. The rest becomes almost irrelevant, but this is definitely a routine that I need to rehearse. Switching to this mode of thinking can easily be practiced during a hitting session by stopping and playing a quick tiebreaker.
