life's pretty dull these days so i thought it would be nice to talk about something that's very close to my heart..
yup, its TENNIS. This is a sport that never stops inspiring me..
I get inspired from watching the tennis stars on TV.
I get inspired from playing tennis myself.
Tennis has taught me a lot about myself. I'm serious. Through playing tennis, I've learnt:
-To never give up. This is an understatement. If I were to elaborate on the many different situations in tennis that involve perseverance, it will take forever...
-To stay calm under pressure. Even when I'm facing break points, or if my opponent is playing really well and is totally trashing me, i tell myself to behave like a pro- To accept the situation, never freak out, and continue fighting patiently. Eventually the opportunity will come.
-To be a fierce competitor. Tennis has really brought out the competitive side of me. Usually i don't like to compete with other ppl... If u want something, u can have it, i don't mind. But when it comes to tennis, i take every point seriously, and sometimes i play as those it is a matter of life and death. I dunno what triggered this, but it JUST IS. I guess this shows u how much tennis means to me.
-To think positively. I'm not really a positive person, but during tennis, i never stop encouraging myself in between points, i urge myself to stay strong, i give myself the loud "Come On!" when i play well, i try not to get too upset or overreact if i make a mistake. I have sort of trained my mind to move on very fast. If i lose a point, i immediately walk to the back of the court, clear my head, then get back to the baseline, and be fully focused for the next point.
-To have self belief. This is probably one of the most important things. I'm not trying to be snobby or think that i'm really great, but the fact IS, I really believe that I can beat anyone on a good day. This is how my mind operates when I play a tennis match. In reality, I know I still have miles to improve and a lot of players can play better than me, but like i said, i have the self belief that i can win, and that's all that matters. After all, if you don't believe in yourself, you can NEVER win a match.
-To be disciplined. I do everything by the book. I never slack when it comes to foot work or the technique of the ground strokes. I realised that I am really obedient, I tend to follow instructions well. Haha kinda stupid but its true. I think I will make a good pet.
These are just some of the lessons i've learnt. Now for the 2nd part of my inspiration post, i will talk about the qualities of some tennis pros that i admire.
Rafael Nadal
OK, i really like Nadal. Partly becoz he's a lefty.
Actually Nadal doesn't have a huge variety of shots like Federer, BUT he can retrieve a lot of shots, and hit hard!
He's like a brick wall and plays with a lot of top spin.
He's greatest quality is probably his tough mental strength. Amazing.
Maria Sharapova
She won Wimbledon at age 17. If that's not impressive, what is? Now she has won 3 different grand slams, only The French Open remaining.
Her story is the classic tennis pro story.
Family was poor, she had to leave her mum at a young age to learn tennis in another country in hopes of improving her family's living quality.
It is her hunger for success that appeals most to me.
You can see the desire in her eyes.
That's why i like to watch her play.
It also helps that she's physically hot!
Justine Henin
Justine was world no.1 for a steady while, but she retired early this year.
Justine had no problems playing against taller, bigger sized players despite her tiny frame.
I will remember her for trashing players like Serena & Jankovic..She had a leading head-to-head record against most top players..
I will remember her beautiful one handed backhand and her all rounded game.
She was like the female version of Federer when she was injury-free.
WOW, i've talked way tooooooo much. Time to stop. Hope this will inspire you to be better in all aspects of life!
