LEARN FROM ROD LAVER

My favorite player growing up was Rod Laver. 

What I admired most about the "Rockhampton Rocket" was that he was just a very normal guy, humble, down-to-earth, and hard-working. He gave normal people like me the idea that it was possible to achieve great things if you could apply yourself to something 100%, like Laver did.

During his career, Laver was known for his ability to play his best tennis when it mattered most. He hardly ever lost a five-set match. There was a saying amongst the other players during that era "Laver never loses in the 5th set". He was that good at closing out tough matches!

Here are 3 ways you can learn from Rod "Rocket" Laver:

#1 Stay focused in the present 

Allowing your mind to get too far ahead in a match, or beating yourself before you get on the court can be disastrous. Avoid the internal mind games that are flowing around in your head by sticking to your match tactics and not allowing yourself to get distracted from the task of executing those tactics.

Laver built up a reputation during his career of being able to come up with something special whenever a match got tight. Begin building your legacy in tight situations!

#2  Simulate Match Pressure During Practice Sessions

Train in a similar way to the way you want to play in real competition. It's no good training at a low intensity and expecting to perform at your best during real matches. Include all the elements that will be present in real matches, into your practice sessions, so that you're accustomed to playing that way before you get to tournaments.

Laver and many of his peers trained under the legendary Australian coach Harry Hopman. In his day Harry Hopman revolutionized the way tennis was trained. He insisted on each one of his players being extremely fit, far beyond the norm during that era.

#3 "Relax and hit for the Lines"

     

Harry Hopman was often on the court with Laver and his fellow Aussie players in his role as Australian Davis Cup Captain. Being Captain allowed Hopman the luxury of coaching Laver during the matches he played, and particularly to influence the way Laver reacted during tight situations.

Laver claimed that during the biggest moments of a match Hopman would often tell players to "relax and hit for the lines". 

Although this type of advice might sound over-simplistic and almost foolish, Hopman was certainly no fool.  Hopman realized he had some extremely talented players in his team and that often all they needed was the confidence to go for their shots. Laver himself claimed that the advice usually worked and that the players began to relax and play their best tennis from that moment onwards.

We have all experienced matches where we wanted to win so badly but were caught in a type of mental and physical paralysis. Sometimes all it takes for us to "snap out of it" and play our normal game is advice just like Hopman's.

I witnessed just such a moment myself while watching a match between Martina Hingis and Marlene Weingartner

This is how Laver trained under Hopman both as a youngster and while he was on top of the tennis world. The greats, like Laver, have plenty to offer the modern player in terms of their knowledge and approach to the game. By adopting a similar attitude and work ethic in your own training you will be able to better handle yourself during your tennis development.