Tennis: How to play a guided tour home as an underdog

You won the first set 6-3. Unbelievingly, you sit on the bench and wonder how you managed it. Learn how to get the match over the finish line.

Your opponent is the towering favorite. The paper form that spoke against you before the game was crumpled and thrown into the trash. Nevertheless, this feeling rises up in you, which hardly a word can describe. You will feel the effects of this feeling immediately on the course. Your arm gets heavier, your easy swing from the first set has taken flight home and your opponent’s good punches hit you now – especially mentally.

With every good stroke of the opponent, with every great point, you get the feeling that you can’t win. Then the so-called momentum turns, your opponent becomes more and more powerful and you lose the match in the back even out. Do you have other options than to feed your opponent with self-confidence in order to let yourself be overrun after a first set won?

As soon as your opponent senses your insecurity, the self-confidence he so urgently needs grows in him. If you’ve won the first set 6:3 against a big favourite, you’ll have to convey this result through your body language. However, many underdogs go the wrong way and through their body language embody a player who does not trust himself and his abilities. Unbelieving head-shaking, contemplative looking down and questioning glances to the coach or teammates at the edge of the field are some of the signs that the opponent registers.

In the head of the opponent, this fearful and weak body language releases the self-conception. The opponent senses that a few good points and a 2-0 or 3-1 lead in the second set are enough to complete the match and finish the match. The stronger your opponent gets in such phases, the weaker you become. Playful – and in the head.

Instead of shuffling across the square like a fearful little boy, your body language must symbolize a killer who has no doubt and will go his way – no matter what. Your opponent must feel how determined you are and that it is natural for you to win the match. This sets completely different systems of thought in motion for your counterpart. You stay in your momentum even if your opponent gets better phases in the second set.

Favorite’s self-conception is difficult to get going if you keep pushing the lid on the pot through your body language and your game. Stay calm when you get the first set. Move slowly, calmly and with great steps to the bank for a change of sides. Go and sit upright, don’t give a face and don’t let your emotions show.

Pushe yourself after good punches without overdoing it. So you set hooks, which hit the mentality of your opponent. Don’t talk too much to yourself on the court, not even quietly. Never forget that your opponent always sees more than you think. At the beginning of the second set it is important that you play from point to point. This hackneyed rule is nonsense for an entire match because your budget of concentration is not enough. But in the important phases, you have to be focused and play every ball as if it were the match point. The start of the second set is such a phase. It’s called staying on.

Many players think that they have to perform wonders against a big favorite. Especially when they are in the lead and have won the first set. The art is to stay true to your style and persistently pursue your match plan. Never overthrow a tactic that has led you to your goal. You only played high balls on the opponent’s backhand, but won the set even though no one expected it?

Perfect, then keep playing this tactic until your opponent finds a solution. Many club players do not have the discipline of a simple tactic to consistently play through two sets. That’s why they sometimes lead against the favourite, but never manage to bring this lead to the finish.

Remember that after winning the first set, you are about to enter the most important phase of the match: the start of the second set. Put great emphasis on your body language and show your opponent the killer in you. No doubt, just confidence. Don’t let your opponent’s strong winners knock you over, but stay confident and confident. Then next time you bring home the victory.