Faith on the Big Points

The clichés always say that the winner is the one who plays the big points better... that a close match hinges on just a few points... that winners make their own luck, etc. etc. During this U.S. Open, one could say that about so many matches - Agassi-Becker, Safin-Nalbandian, Davenport-Srebotnik and others... But the difference in the play of several former Number Ones, e.g. Hingis, Serena, Roddick, is also about how much faith they (still) have under pressure. When their opponent starts spraying winners for a couple games, do they still believe enough in their own game that they can execute their best shots when it really matters? I think that that is the difference between Martina Hingis, Serena Williams and Andy Roddick today versus a few years ago... not that everyone else is better, but that they are not (always) playing their best “hands”... Fortunately for Andy Roddick fans, he’s looking more and more as if he’s found his mojo again!








Comments
Serena is on the way back, not there yet, but she will be soon - look, she already blanked Mauresmo in the second set!
Posted by: Sammy | September 6, 2006 08:28 AM