By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, January 19, 2020
AO champion Novak Djokovic says "emotional maturity and experience to understand his own strengths, to kind of fight his own fear" is key for any player to master multiple majors.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Analytics inform players.
Emotion inspires champions.
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Playing Grand Slam tennis before thousands of roaring fans can be a terrifying experience even for elite players.
Managing the fear factor is critical to mastering multiple majors says reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
"To win a slam and also to kind of be consistently on the top level for many years, it takes I think a player to gain that mental and emotional maturity and experience," Djokovic told the media in his pre-tournament presser. "To understand his own strengths, to kind of fight his own fears, to really be able to maintain that level for a long time.
"Rafa, Roger, and I, obviously because of the past 10, 15 years, we know what we need to do mentally also in this particular situation. That gives us probably a little bit of an edge."
The second-ranked Serbian, who can regain the world No. 1 ranking by defending his title and top-ranked Rafael Nadal losing before the semifinals, opens against powerful German Jan-Lennard Struff. Djokovic has swept all seven sets he's played vs. Struff.
Playing for his 600th career match victory—and eighth AO championship, Djokovic knows all about the power of piloting mind and body through terrifying turbulence.
It doesn't get much scarier than being down double championship point to Grand Slam king Roger Federer on centre court of the Wimbledon final with the overwhelming majority of the crowd roaring for your opponent.
Yet Djokovic channeled angst into action denying both championship points to defeat Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to successfully defend his Wimbledon title in The Championships' longest final—and first men’s major final decided in a fifth-set tie breaker.
"Nevertheless, everything has to kind of intertwine and everything has to be, I guess, in balance," Djokovic said. "When I say 'everything' I mean mental, physical, emotional. Then of course you need to have luck on that day and for the stars to align to win a Grand Slam trophy."
Billie Jean King famously said "pressure is a privilege."
Grand Slam pressure can be a paralyzing.
Francesca Schiavone shed tears of joy after conquering Samantha Stosur to make history as the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title at the 2010 Roland Garros.
Afterward, Schiavone admitted she wept tears of fear before the biggest match of her life.
"I was crying and I couldn't take the car. I said to my coach: You go to play, " Schiavone said. "I tried to stay focused on my play, to just play and to enjoy, to really enjoy from the heart. "
Emotion empowered Stan Wawrinka in his 2016 US Open final victory over Djokovic.
Nerves nearly consumed the third-seeded Swiss before the match. Wawrinka was so skittish before the final he was shaking and weeping in the locker room minutes before walking out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"Before the final, I was really nervous like never before. I was shaking in the locker," Wawrinka said. "When we start five minutes before the match talking, last few things with (coach) Magnus (Norman), I start to cry. I was completely shaking. But the only thing I was convinced with myself that my game was there.
"Physically I was there. My game was there. Put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win. And that's what happen after few games when I start to believe in myself, start to be in the match. I was only focused on the match, not what can happen if I win the match."
Focus can get twisted to kaleidoscope of horror— even when you're walking onto a Grand Slam court alongside one of the greatest champions in history.
Richard Gonzales, Jr., son and doubles partner of Hall of Famer Pancho Gonzales, was jolted into double vision at the sight of thousands of fans cramming Forest Hills to see the legendary champ play his first US Open doubles match alongside his oldest son.
"There were fans everywhere: people hanging off trees, people peaking underneath the backdrop, cramming into every space," Richard Gonzales, Jr. told Tennis Now. "There were people everywhere to see him.
"It scared the shit out of me. I was so goddamn nervous I couldn’t see straight."
Vision and revision—the ability to adapt to mid-match pressure and adjust to life's unsettling twists—are qualities Djokovic has displayed collecting 16 Grand Slam titles.
When it comes to facing major stress tests in 2020, the world No. 2 envisions maximizing the milestone moments ahead.
"I think I just had to adapt to this newly-occurring circumstances and evolve, kind of grow stronger, and also find purpose and motivation in each of these phases or sequences in my career, in my life as well," Djokovic said. "I mean, I'm completely different person, have completely different life today than I had five years ago. I'm a father of two children. Obviously things are not the way they were 5 or 10 years ago. I know that. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's better or it's worse, it's just different.
"I adapt to that and I try to maximize the present moment as much as I can in my life and try to find the optimal balance and formula that will allow me to play my best."