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**enurneAcourdy** · 12-20-2008, 03:14 AM

I don't know if this is true for anyone else, but i find that i play my best in matches where i am really outclassed, and really don't have much of a chance. i'm guessing it is so because I am so much more relaxed then I usually am. In a way it is kind of frustrating because I would win a lot more matches if I could do this against players more of my caliber, but it is nice to be able to say you hung with whoever for two sets

This is totally true for me. Earlier this year I played 2 of the best players at the UW who failed to make the varsity team and I went in with the full knowledge that I should probably get stomped. But I beat the first guy (who, it was painfully obvious, had greatly underestimated me) and hit some of the best shots I could ever in my dreams hit. I had to play the 2nd guy very soon after and was pretty exhausted (and the guy plays exactly like Andy Murray so I wasn't going to get free or even short points) but I still played really freely and without nerves. I did only get one game a set from him, but I still played about as well as I could have.

I find that when i play people at my level or below, I expend the minimum amount of energy necessary to win. A terrible habit but a hard one to break. I don't enjoy destroying people and I think part of me likes to have an excuse if I happen to lose (I'm the king of self-handicapping behavior). But I hope you savored the match you played against the good guy, brp. It's super-exciting to play really well. When I'm in the zone, I get an image of myself channeling Nikolay Davydenko (of all people). It's like a runner's high. It's the reason I play competitive tennis. You'll feel better about it soon.

12-20-2008, 03:14 AM	#7
enurneAcourdy Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 727 Senior Member	I don't know if this is true for anyone else, but i find that i play my best in matches where i am really outclassed, and really don't have much of a chance. i'm guessing it is so because I am so much more relaxed then I usually am. In a way it is kind of frustrating because I would win a lot more matches if I could do this against players more of my caliber, but it is nice to be able to say you hung with whoever for two sets This is totally true for me. Earlier this year I played 2 of the best players at the UW who failed to make the varsity team and I went in with the full knowledge that I should probably get stomped. But I beat the first guy (who, it was painfully obvious, had greatly underestimated me) and hit some of the best shots I could ever in my dreams hit. I had to play the 2nd guy very soon after and was pretty exhausted (and the guy plays exactly like Andy Murray so I wasn't going to get free or even short points) but I still played really freely and without nerves. I did only get one game a set from him, but I still played about as well as I could have. I find that when i play people at my level or below, I expend the minimum amount of energy necessary to win. A terrible habit but a hard one to break. I don't enjoy destroying people and I think part of me likes to have an excuse if I happen to lose (I'm the king of self-handicapping behavior). But I hope you savored the match you played against the good guy, brp. It's super-exciting to play really well. When I'm in the zone, I get an image of myself channeling Nikolay Davydenko (of all people). It's like a runner's high. It's the reason I play competitive tennis. You'll feel better about it soon.
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