"....After winning a difficult, tense set there’s often a conflict between your logical mind, which tells you to keep applying pres-sure and close out the match, and your subconscious mind, which suggests that you temporarily escape all this stress by easing up and taking a well-deserved mental break. With a set under your belt, now feels like as good a time as any.
Big mistake. On the other side of the net, your opponent knows that he has to bear down or he’ll soon be leaving the court a loser. So he tends to maintain or increase his intensity level. Couple that with your own tendency to let up at this stage and there’s a momentum change just waiting to happen.
How do you prevent it? In this situation, forewarned is forearmed. If you win the first set, take a few moments to collect yourself and pump yourself up. Then redouble your efforts at the start of the second set. It often helps to play games with your mind. Try to convince yourself that the match is starting over and that you have to jump out to an early lead. Be even more aggressive...."
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