The great stoic philosopher and former professional pugilist Mike Tyson once observed that “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” By the time he retired, some 44 lucky boxers were knocked out by Iron Mike’s plan-changing punches.
Of course, the great ones learn how to spit out the broken teeth and come back swinging. And that form of resiliency was certainly on display Sunday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, better known simply as Wimbledon.
There at the fabled Centre Court, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced the Serbian Novak Djokovic in the men’s final. Now, Alcaraz is no slouch. Even before Wimbledon, he was ranked #1 in the world, one spot above Djokovic. And Alcaraz won the 2022 U.S. Open. He has been called the standard-bearer of the next generation of players who are supposed to move the sport beyond the era of the “Big Three” – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic – who seemed to have ruled the sport forever.
The hard serving Serb was heavily favored, having won more men’s singles majors, including seven Wimbledon Championships, than anyone in history. The last time Djokovic lost on Centre Court, Alcaraz was a 10-year-old who couldn’t wait to watch the final. There he was Sunday, standing across the net from one of his boyhood idols. And perhaps the emphasis should be on the word “standing,” because for the first set, Alcaraz looked frazzled as Djokovic piled on the points and games on the way to a dominant 6-1 win. Some players would not have recovered from such a start. But Alcaraz not only recovered, he went on to outplay his opponent and win the match in five sets of outstanding tennis.
We all get punched in the face, now and again. A program we write has more bugs than the Amazon Jungle in August. An article we submit comes back with more red marks on it than the 44 unfortunates who met Tyson in the ring. You get the picture. Fortunately, there are techniques we can all apply to get our heads back in the game before the blows knock us out. Here are several anyone can use:
- Take a deep breath: Win or lose, Women’s tennis great Steffi Graf used to give herself a few seconds after every point to reset for the next one. This allowed her to stay focused on the present and prevent doubt or disappointment setting in. Far from trying to ignore his problem, Alcaraz gave himself permission to soak in the setback, accept his emotions, then move on. “After the first set I thought, ‘Carlos, increase the level!’” said Alcaraz after the match. “Everyone was going to be disappointed with me.”
- Dig in: In the second set of his match with Djokovic, Alcaraz dug in and drew from the sure skill set that got him to Centre Court in the first place. Having allowed himself to be mesmerized by his opponent and the magnitude of the feat he was attempting, he knuckled down and played his game; he combined enough power to record nine aces and plenty of unhittable ground strokes with enough of a light touch to deposit those amazing drop shops near the net. All the while, he looked for openings in Djokovic’s psyche and, when he found them, pounced by breaking the usually unbreakable Djokovic when it counted.
- Feed Big Mo: While Alcaraz likely had to win the second set to stay in the match, the third set also mattered to Alcaraz because the last thing he wanted to do was to go down 2-1 to a master of the mind game like Djokovic. So, he used the momentum he’d earned grinding out the hard second-set win to continue working that combination of power and finesse, frustrating Djokovic and ultimately winning the third set 6-1. The match was by no means over, but by then it was anyone’s to win.
Momentum is a complex force, and tennis is a great sport to illustrate its inscrutable ways. For momentum to shift, at least three things seem to be required: first, a brief space or seam has to open up in which neither of the adversaries are superior; second, one of the opponents must step into that space, if only for an instant; finally, the adversary who steps into the space must believe he or she will prevail. Of course, all of these can take place in an instant, which makes them hard to spot.
The point is that, unlike gravity, momentum is a force that involves us, our awareness and willingness to be the change needed to shift momentum. And we don’t need a Djokovic or a Tyson standing across from us to bring out this spirit. Often, the opponent we’re fighting is inside our own heads. And as Alcarez showed, it often takes just one hard-won point to get things going in the right direction.
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