This week's Davis Cup matches look very exciting and I'm looking forward to the Nadal-Djokovic battle. The supporters from both countries will be very noisy, that's for sure. ;)

Too bad Federer had to pull out of the USA-Switzerland match-up since Federer-Roddick match could have been very interesting too...

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1. What's new?
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One of the most common problems in competitive tennis at all levels is the difference between performance in practice and performance in matches.

Most players succumb to the match pressure and are unable to play as well as they do in practice.

The following article shows you two ways to solve this challenge. There are no magic pills though, it's a long term process which will definitely improve your match play as long as you follow both approaches:

How to Play Matches The Same Way As You Play In Practice

I also invite you to share your fears and doubts in the form on that page.

I'll do my best to help you out and your comments will help other visitors to that page overcome their challenges in tennis matches.

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2. Tennis Thoughts Blog
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Alex Claussen has been helping me with great tennis tips this month.

His first blog post explains the importance of the racquet preparation and I found an old photo of Andre Agassi which superbly demonstrates the circular backswing preparation.

Keys to Racquet Preparation

The second article is about tennis strategy, more specifically, on how to use the weather conditions to your advantage:

How to use Wind, Sun and Heat to Your Advantage

Thanks to Alex for his posts!

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The US hard court season is starting next week with Indian Wells and Miami (week later) and I'll let you know how you can follow the matches online if you wish.

All that and more in the next issue on 20th of March!

Best, Tomaz

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