After you subtract all the physical and athletics from squash & tennis you are left with tactics and will power. Watching Roger Federer play the finals of the US Open, I was keenly aware of little nuances in his behavior that made me believe his will power to fight had been compromised. He was not playing up to par by his own standards for sure, throwing in 9 double faults and less than 50% first serves. Despite starting out this poorly, he had command of the first set and leading in the second. What made me think he was not fighting was the fact that he made no adjustments or attempted no change in the way he was playing to improve the quality of his game. Contrary to how he 'turns it on' when he is doing well, he played even more conservatively. (His service return were often a slice back or a block back. He rallied more from the baseline and almost never served and volley.) Every player finds a different way to adjust. Some gets visibly angry, some takes more risks, and yet others may wait for an opponent to drop his level before playing aggressively outside his comfort zone. I think Roger took the latter approach. Given how consistently high the quality of his shots, he has good reason to believe that in the long run over the course of 5 sets, his opponent will have more dips that could give him the match. But, in most extraordinary and exhilarating competitions as in the finals of a major grand slam championship, people take extraordinary risks and come up with extraordinary results. I believe that's what happened to Roger Federer. As Juan Martin Del Potro dug deep to fight within himself to play better, he eclipsed Roger. Anytime one player raises his quality, there's always an effect on the other. Sometimes, it's positive but often it adversely affects the other's game. The final set really tells the story with Roger losing serve twice and unable to break Del Potro to go out in 6 2.
Taking the path of waiting for opportunities and letting one's average game, no matter how high a level that is, is a recipe for 'Not Losing.' To win at these extraordinary events, one must always think and plan a 'winning' strategy. One that takes chances and those chances will in turn show your opponent your fight and put pressure on his game. Juan Martin Del Potro did precisely that despite playing subpar for the first 3 and a half sets. His continued attempts to raise his game in fact did so in the final set to win him his first US Open title.
In my own game, I play not to lose in practice. I often face players during practice who come out shooting, playing to win, and playing the lowest percentages of shots. I can't find any fault in that approach, except I need to practice playing the 'to Win' strategy sometimes to prepare myself mentally for the match scenario.
What should I do when I can't find my rhythm during a match?
What should I do when my shots are all off?
What are the things I can change in the middle of the match?
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