(Does) Success Breed Success (?)
or at their favorite tournaments. Think of Bjorn Borg or now Venus Williams at Wimbledon, or Rafael Nadal on clay courts.
A recent article by Jonah Lehrer in the Wall Street Journal looked at the “superstar effect” of successful athletes and explored research related to how their reputations actually win points for them before they even set foot on the field of play. Given that so much of sports success is related to mental strength, often above and beyond physical skills, it's not surprising that "mind games", as unconscious as they might be, can have an enormous effect on the outcome of a tennis match.
Roger Federer, who reclaimed the Number One ranking last year that he temporarily lost to Rafael Nadal, has clearly lost a bit of his edge in non-Grand Slam tournaments over the past few years. At the recent "Baby Slams", Federer lost two matches where he had match point, an outcome more unlikely to happen in two back-to-back Grand Slams. Federer is a different player at the Grand Slams, generally still a more confident and invincible player and therefore more "feared" by the other players often causing them to overplay at critical junctures of a match. As Rafael Nadal returns to his beloved clay courts in the lead up to the French Open, it will be revealing to see how Rafa fares, especially in his first couple tournaments. Will Nadal find his "mojo" again before he returns to Roland Garros, the site of his first and most significant Grand Slam success.
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