Who Succeeds When Two Believe They Will Win?
by : John Watson
I hope you had a good week since I last wrote. As you know some days things go really well; other days nothing seems to succeed. We all know how important belief is to success but what else leads to victory and success?
On 27th January 2007, Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in the final of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne.
She not only defeated her; she wiped the floor with her. Serena’s victory was described as the demolition of the world’s number one female tennis player.
Both Maria and Serena had parents who had taught them from childhood: “You can do it!”
Both believed their parents and had put in the work to support their belief. Maria is probably one of the best prepared women on the tour and has a record second to none.
Maria’s dad, Yuri, had gone to America prepared to do any job to support his daughter as she developed her tennis skills. She trained hard for hours every day.
The Williams family had believed for years that Venus and Serena would be number one and two in the world. Mr Williams made sure they worked hard to achieve this dream which many described as impossible.
Both Serena and Maria badly wanted to win the tournament. What made the difference? No one can say for sure but probably Serena wanted to win more. Her desire for victory was probably greater than Maria’s. Her will to win was enormous and, once she was ahead, she was determined not to let Maria into the match.
Sam Smith, the outstanding UK commentator, pointed out that Serena was so unconditioned at the start of the tournament that she had to stop in the middle of a rally to get her breath back:.
“Serena should have been on the plane back home half way through the tournament but she has just imposed her will on all the players including Sharapova.”
As Serena played on through the tournament winning victory after victory, she became fitter and stronger and was a different player by the time the final arrived. She was back to her best and looked like the Serena Williams of old. Her stunning performance from the start of the final shocked Maria who looked as if she did not know what had hit her.
Serena got on top from the start of the match and, once on top, it is much easier to stay on top. If you start late and are down a few games, it takes a huge extra effort to come back. Serena looked totally focussed and aggressive. She even glared at Maria when Maria, who was none too happy with the role of loser, hit a winner by aiming the ball directly at Serena!
The glare was so dramatic that, when it was shown on the replay screen, the entire audience laughed! Serena showed mental toughness throughout the match if you define mental toughness as staying in the moment and focusing on every action you take.
She looked as if she was in a prize fight where every move could mean defeat or victory. When the match was over, Serena changed totally and was like a young girl celebrating her first victory.
She laughed and danced around and gave a gracious speech giving some words of praise to Maria.
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