Why Do Players Care After the US Open?: Davis Cup/Fed Cup

Now that Some of you understand the idea of point defense.  Lets move on to something that is much easier to understand.  Fed Cup happens in early November and Davis Cup happens in later November.  

What is Davis/Fed CUP? 

The Fed Cup (women) and the Davis Cup (men) are played all year round. Whenever the tennis pros have a break from their super busy schedule, they gather up with their teammates and host or visit another country.  This tournament is not ATP or WTA sanctioned.

Tournament Format

There are 8 teams in each side of the draw (16 total). How they pick the 16 teams is like legalize.  It is very confusing. Something about a round robin format and zones like Soccer (Football) World Cup.  After they get the teams...it is a normal drive to the end of the tournament. A committee figures out where the ties are played.

What the heck...TIE?

When two countries play each other, they call it a "tie." This causes much confusion when listening to the commentators talk about past "ties."  In a Fed Cup tie, there are 5 matches, 4 singles and 1 doubles over 2 days (Saturday & Sunday). Saturday, 2 singles matches are played. Sunday the singles competitors are switched  and there is a doubles match. It is kind of like USTA Teams in the USA but with only one doubles match.

Every match is called a "RUBBER." So if USA wins 3 out of 5 Rubbers against Sweden, USA wins the Tie. If USA wins the first 3 right off the bat, the last two rubbers do not matter but they still are played. Those matches are known as "DEAD RUBBERS."

Why is Davis/Fed Cup Fun?

These cups are like a big party. Fans are allowed to make as much noise as they want in between points and are often VERY ROWDY. The players also really seem to enjoy playing for their respective countries. Sometimes the home team has crazy rules like unlimited shot tracker challenges.  Players that feed off atmosphere can become Fed Cup heroes. Nobodies can make a great name for themselves. A lot of people really love to play for their countries and are really motivated.  

Davis/Fed Cup is a great way to see professional tennis.  The camaraderie between teammates is very evident and it is a great way for the younger players to learn from the older ones.  It is no surprise that a team with success will soon have individual players that make their way on the tour.  These matches usually happen on the Tennis Channel so if you want to check it out you can go to a bar at a wierd time and get it on the screen.

Why Do Players Care After the US Open?: Point Defense

A lot of sports commentators call the US Open the end of the year for tennis because it is the last slam of the year.  But tennis still goes on until the end of the ATP/WTA Championships.  So what the heck is the reason?  Can't the players finally take a nap and heal?  The answer of course is NO for a few reasons: Point Defense, Davis/Fed Cup, Year End Finals.

Point Defense

Every now and then you hear that a player has "points to defend."  And they NEVER go out of their way to explain what the heck that means!  I am willing to bet that non pro commentators have no idea either.  The pro says it so fast everyone just says "sure."

Well....the scores you see on the rankings are the players total score from last year (52 weeks of tennis).  Every week that goes by they compare to the previous week and add or subtract the score from last years total.  Most of the events pretty much happen on the same exact week every year.

Examples:

So Marin Cilic won the 2014 US Open this year.  Last year he missed 9 months starting before the US Open because of a doping suspension.  That means that he has 0 points to defend for the rest of the year and every point he makes goes positively towards his ranking.

On the other hand Rafael Nadal won the US Open in 2013.  He didn't play 2014 due to an injury.  That means he will take the opposite hit (2000 points) for the rankings that Cilic took.

Novak Djokovic was runner up two years in a row (2013 and 2012).  His points after the US Open didn't change at all.

2013

2012

I assume they do it like this so that ALL players in the world don't start off at 0 ranking.  If a pro nobody like Cici Bellis should get a wildcard into the Aussie Open and upset Maria Sharapova without this system, Maria would be ranked lower than Cici automatically.

Whew! (wipes sweat from brow) that gets confusing!

Mental Tennis: Finding The Zone

In most sports, players are obsessed with finding "the zone". It is this area in which your mind is fully focused on your task and nothing else.  As a former martial arts teacher, I liken it to fighting in which all of the sudden your opponent can't lay a hand on you but you can see and take advantage of every opportunity.  Its like you are watching a movie in which you are the hero.  The only problem with the zone is that once you realize you are in it, you cannot achieve it anymore because you have lost your focus.  What I've understood is that finding the zone has a big part in what TYPE of player you are.  So we will examine the player type as well as their zone inducers.

Forcing the Zone

Your zone is basically a deep form of meditation in which you try to find a quiet area in your mind with which to focus on things OUTSIDE of your mind.  A good way of doing this is to form a mantra to keep saying to yourself until you have found that space.  Find a saying that gives you a feeling of success and say it until you believe it.

Defensive Player

The player that runs everything down has the easiest chance of finding the zone simply because they are already thinking more about stopping you than playing well. With this sort of mentality, it is easiest to fine the zone when you set up a scenario in your mind that you are a victim and your opponent is the bad person that is trying to destroy you. 

Note: it is the very nature of a defensive player to DENY that they even play defensively.  Fortunately for them, whenever they feel stress mentally their brain creates a representative that plays defensively for them.  When that representative arrives,  The zone is there.

Aggressive Player

The player that likes to hit balls hard is ego driven.  They play so that other people and they can be impressed with the powerful shots they hit.  They are very internally driven.  Because of this, they want to use the scenario of being an unstoppable force like a tornado.  You should be shocked that the other person is out there trying to stop you.  Most of the problem that aggressive players have is that they go for winners.  This is the wrong idea.  You want to BEAT UP your opponent.

The type of Mantra you come up with needs to be one that makes your opponent into someone who is trying to make you look bad.  Try not to think about yourself because two bad misses can send you spiraling.  Focus on the destruction you cause in your strokes.  "Take that!"

All Court and Serve and Volley Player

These types of players are pretty vain in which their best playing mode is when they are just trying to show everyone how easy it is for them to be a genius.  Above all, their level of easy talent supersedes anyone else's ability.  "You might have better weapons, but I'm a genius."  Since being a genius most likely entails being awesome, all court/serve and volley players try to force it.  But being a genius means you can absorb and process lot of information very quickly, not pretend to be an aggressive player.

The type of Mantra you come up with needs to be one that makes you feel like you have a plan.  Then you would say the plan over and over until it becomes a part of your game that day.  Maybe "Attack the backhand" or "use the spin."

There are other ways to get into the zone of course.  Some sort of emotional peak like hatred of losing or love of tennis can help you find your zone.  Counting strokes helps you focus.  However if you work to become a certain type of person when you play, you can get to a point where you can activate it when you need it.

Next Tuesday :)