THG Formulations

The hard-hitting, erratic, net-rushing player is a creature of impulse. There is no real system to his/her attack, no understanding of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, largely by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an interesting type of character.

The really unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her strategy from back to fore court under the command of an ever-alert mind. This/her is the player to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle opponent in the world of tennis. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the end, with never a thought of change.

He is the player whose psychology is fairly easy to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is hard to upset, for he never permits himself to think about anything except the business at hand. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.

Choose your type from your own mental processes, and then work out your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are on the same level concerning stroke, strength and equipment, the determining factor in any match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is often just grasping the psychological advantage of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. We hear a great deal about the “shots he has made.” Few realize the importance of the “shots he has missed.”

The science of missing shots is just as important as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Allow me to explain. A player forces you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and having reached it, you drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is shocked and put off his stride, knowing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to attempt it again and he will not risk it next time. He will strive to play the ball, and may fall into error. You have thus taken some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, all because of a miss.

If you had merely popped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would merely have been winded for no reason.

Let’s suppose that you had made that shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points, because it took one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one that you should never have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, as he thinks that he has thrown away a big chance.

The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but easily understandable. Both player begin with equal opportunities. However, once one player has gained a real lead, his/her confidence rises, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes poor. The only objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby holding his/her confidence.

If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even more drastic contrast in psychology of the players. First, there is the natural confidence of the leader of the game, but it is coupled with the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly sure-fire defeat into a likely victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan will be the result.

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