Choke!!!!

by Nick

I was playing someone who would usually beat me easily, so when i stepped on the court i had nothing to lose.

So I went for my shots and after winning the first set 6-3 i found myself up 4-1 in the second.

That's when it came to me that i could relax and he would make the mistakes and all i needed to do was keep the ball in the court.

After losing a couple of game on the trot i started to get nervous and my ground strokes started to become slower and shorter. i ended up losing the 2nd set 7-5 and the 3rd 6-3.

I came up against the same opponent in the final of a tournament after winning a grueling 3 set semi, and hearing that he had just belted the s*** out of the first seed in his semi.

I came on to the court tired and sore, and made the decision before the match that if it was in my slot it wouldn't be coming back over the net. I took the first set to my surprise 6-1, and was up 5-2 in the second when i remembered our last match and how i had choked!

Well just as that thought came into my mind my serve which is usually reliable was broken and then after he held his i found myself staring down the barrel of another 3 set loss.

At the change of ends i knew i needed to play my shots to win the match. so i went out and hit a screaming winner down the line of his 1st serve.

Feeling pumped i step in to attack his first serve again and was clean aced down the "T". I thought to myself that i still need to go for my shots but i cant make errors.

So i decided to play my shots but aim for 1m inside the court than i usually do. and it worked a 6-1, 6-4 win in the final, and i haven't lost to him since.