Federer and Nadal in Shanghai

Another interesting result in Shanghai Masters 1000 this week.  Nadal loses again, this time to the #11 player in the world, Jurgen Melzer, who qualified for the doubles year-end championships already.  I don’t know what to say except that again, the cyclical results continue as Nadal falls to fairly weak competition when not in Grand Slam play.  Yes, I know that anyone can win a 2-out-3 format, but these losses on the heels of a dominant US Open performance still make you say “hmmm.”

Federer on the other hand, has had his best results in small events this season, with a dominant quarterfinal thrashing of Robin Soderling.  So much for Fed losing twice in a row to Robin.  He dispatched the giant Swede in 53 minutes, 6-1, 6-1.  Federer has suffered six losses to players outside the top 10 this season, so we cannot say that he is exempt from losing to lower ranked opponents.  Maybe he cycles too?  I don’t know, but I want there to be comprehensive testing so that young men and women who want to play professional sports have a choice as to whether they can follow their dream or sacrifice their health, which incidently is the exact opposite of what sports is about!

Honor in Recreational Tennis

I’m a tennis coach.  I coach a middle school girls team in the Los Angeles area.  They are great girls who work hard every practice.  Most of them are honorable on the court with their line calls, something that is paramount to our sport.  Tennis is a game of honor, where the players themselves, in most cases, make the decisions that determine the outcome of matches.  Players can choose to cheat, as Andre Agassi says of Jeff Tarango in his autobiography, Open, and there is nothing the opponent can really do about it, even in smaller tournaments.  Without this honor, the game is worthless and we become a wasteland of human degradation.

I over-rule calls made by my girls that are blatantly incorrect.  They are not cheating and that is why they take it in stride.  I commend them for it.  I hope that all players out there, who subscribe to the “when in doubt, call it out” policy, will heed the lessons of 12 and 13 year olds who can take the criticism, and admit they made a mistake, instead of upholding their error in the face of contrary evidence.  As usual, adults can learn a lot from the children around them.  Please make your policy, “when in doubt, call it in.”  It’s not a catchy, but it sure feels better.

Humor Great Weapon on Change-Overs in Tennis

I have always used The Naked Gun 2 1/2 as a way to lighten my mood in a tense match on changeovers.  It takes your mind out of its rut and gets you relaxed again when it counts most.  Here is one video that I think I will now use for the same purpose.  If you find another good one, let me know!

Grover spoofs Old Spice!

Peak Performance with Neurofeedback in Tennis

I have posted a video proposing the use of neurofeedback therapy by the USTA to help develop our future tennis players (for that matter other athletes too) into mentally formidable professionals.  Please view this video and tell me what your thoughts are at

High Performance Appeal to USTA

If you want to know more about how neurofeedback actually works, see this video

What is Neurofeedback for Peak Performance?

or look on the eeginfo.com website for videos on the effects and uses of neurofeedback beyond peak performance.

You can also read more about it at my website www.godlikeperformance.com.

I look forward to hearing your comments.  My personal experience with neurofeedback is amazing.  I beat a player who I hadn’t beaten in 3-4 years after doing neurofeedback for a couple months!

Nadal Loses and Questions Win.

Rafa lost today in three sets to…are you ready for this…Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.  Amazing.  The number 53 ranked player taking Nadal out, on his best surface, hard courts.  Yes, after dominating the U.S. Open as no one ever has, how can a player like that lose his next event (with time off!).  Unlikely?  Impossible?

Perhaps, athletes have down periods, slumps, if you will.  Interesting that Nadal does not slump against top ten opponents at the majors lately.  Until the clay court season this year, Nadal was thumped repeatedly by every player in the top ten for nearly 11 months.  That’s right, check his record leading to the 2010 clay court season.  Suddenly, this summer, he’s literally unstoppable at the slams.  He wins all of them, going away.  Going away.

When Fed was have 3-slam years, he rarely lost to anyone outside the top 10.  He won the other tournaments with a rare hiccup here and there.  He demonstrated remarkable consistence in his results, reflective of his level of play.  Nadal, appears to be incredible, even unstoppable, then between Wimbledon and the US Open, got his butt kicked by everyone, including some of the players he beat like a drum at the US Open.  After the US Open, he promptly gets beaten again.

Maybe he wants to see if he can win without using help.  Maybe he has to cycle off for his general health.  It’s just plain odd.  It’s odd like Sampras suddenly winning his last US Open when he hadn’t won in over 2 years.  All of that is odd.  I am not a Nadal fan, however, I was a Sampras fan, but I cannot help but wonder when players suddenly have one great tournament out of nowhere.  Institute stricter testing and make the results transparent, then I’ll stop asking questions.  There’ll be no questions to ask.