Changing the momentum in a match

Keeping a clear head in the heat of battle is tough for even the most experienced of players. When the momentum begins to swing seemingly inexorably in the opposite direction, it’s easy to let the frustration build until it’s too late.

However with the right mindset you can learn how to turn the tables when it comes to these key moments. Rafael Nadal is the undisputed master of changing the momentum in matches. A slight change of intensity from the Spaniard and suddenly his opponent is once more chasing shadows.

Not all of us can rely on Nadal’s supreme agility and sledgehammer forehand when the going gets tough but former world No.4 Brad Gilbert believes that a lot can be gained simply by not panicking.

“I always see it like this – when you’re winning, go faster,” Gilbert said. “That’s not the time to slow down. When things are starting to slip away and you’ve lost control of the match, a lot of times we start to do the opposite of what we should do and rush. You see this even at the very highest level. Say I’ve been up 4-1 and I’m now down 5-4, I would think, ‘OK I’ve gotta slow down and try and make it last a little longer. Make the other person think a little more.’ Because your natural reaction when you’re losing is, ‘I’ve gotta try and win this back in two seconds.’ And that way you’ll probably lose more.”

Gilbert spent considerable time watching club players while writing his bestselling book Winning Ugly and he has some simple recommendations for alleviating the tension.

“You know what’s really big?” he said. “I see this a lot in club players. I tell them ‘You’re not playing tennis under water. Breathe!’ You have to think about what you’re doing in between points. Breathe and calm down a little bit.”

Ryan Harrison is one of the most talented youngsters on the tour and he says that the challenges of dealing with momentum swings can provide some insight into why so many players are fanatical about their on-court routines.

“Having set routines really helps to keep a cool head and think through things mid-match, especially if it’s starting to slip away,” he said. “You know that you’re going to go to the change of ends, sit down for 90 seconds and spend 30 seconds evaluating it, 30 seconds planning your next plan of attack and the final 30 seconds planning your execution of that plan. It becomes mechanical even if you’re nervous.”

“The biggest thing is that you try to evaluate what’s happening. When you change sides, you say ‘OK what was I doing that was successful? What has changed and what are they doing which is successful now?’ If you listen to the best coaches in the world in any sport, they will constantly all about the success that they’re having and what they are doing that has been successful.”

For Jack Sock it’s important to focus on what you had been doing well earlier on in the match rather than letting the red mist descend. “You were leading for a reason so you need to take confidence from that, relax and get back to that place mentally,” he said. “Maybe you had been doing something to unsettle your opponent but as they started to claw the lead back you tensed up and you haven’t been thinking clearly for a few games?”

Angelique Kerber suggests that sometimes the psychological presence of an opponent can be a factor, especially if the statistics suggest that they’re better than you or they have a good record in turning matches around.

“Forget everything you know about your opponent — her ranking, record, statistics and just fight!” she said. “You have to block all of that out, focus and just concentrate on yourself and your game.

“But also try to understand why the situation changed. Maybe you lost your concentration or your opponent changed something in their game? There are a lot of possibilities. But it is always vital to believe in yourself, think about what you want to do to get the momentum back and commit to a plan. If your opponent can win four games in a row, you can do the same.”

British tennis coach Alistair Higham believes there are five distinct phases of momentum in a match and the best players are acutely tuned to recognising those different stages, a theory he outlined in his book Momentum, The Hidden Force in Tennis. He feels there’s a vital distinction between when the momentum is completely against you compared to when things are slowly shifting in your opponent’s favour, and the strategy you follow should vary accordingly.

When you have your back to the wall, Higham recommends slowing down and using whatever methods you can to prolong time between points. However when the tide is just beginning to turn, he suggests you should actually increase the energy of your play and actually try to be more aggressive.

“Your options also depend a lot on the kind of player you’re facing,” says Richard Gasquet. “For example with me, if I’m trying to turn a match around against a Spanish player, I’ll try to get to the net more as they tend to play from the back of the court.

It’s important to try a lot of different things so you give them something new to think about.

As an aggressive player who likes to dictate with her heavy serve and forehand, Sam Stosur generally finds that most matches rest on her racquet. But when she’s up against a fellow big hitter like Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova, the match can change course in an instant.

“Sometimes it can just take a couple of points,” she said. “Then you need to take a step back and maybe use the change of ends to think about what’s gone wrong. The momentum often switches quickly in these matches as those players can be making lots of errors one minute and then the next minute they’re hitting a string of winners. That can be very frustrating but you have to try to think about alternative solutions to get the match back on your terms.”