The first tennis Grand Slam of the Year 2021 ended in Australia after two weeks of miraculous, meticulous regularity. It was good to see two great champions reasserting themselves. The affable, quiet, well-manered Naomi Osaka stamped superiority on the women’s singles competition but it was legendary athlete Novak Djokovic, the great Serbian who played sublime tennis with a torn stomach muscle to secure his ninth Australian Open title! Rafael Nadal, my all-time favourite lost earlier than anybody would have expected. Let me connect these three great champions through three different management lessons to learn while enjoying their game anyway.
I always marvel at the fact that when you finish a match and get back into the tunnel and also on your way out when too you can read it in bold letters, are the words of the legendary Rod Laver after whom the Arena is named.
“You are most vulnerable when you are ahead. DONT LET UP!”
I was just telling myself that if at all there was anybody in the world who believed that it was Rafa Nadal, my icon. Unfortunately, this was one time he lost a match he should have easily won! Melbourne has been as cruel to him as Paris has been kind. Two sets up and in a tiebreaker he missed a few loose points that allowed his opponent to come back. The young Greek, Tsitsipas stayed calm and serene to come back to win in five sets.
Never let up. That was also what MS Dhoni often told his team: ” He who panics last, wins the game!”
The second lesson was of sheer determination of a champion, Djokovic. Seven tough matches over alternate days to recover that he had played with a torn stomach muscle but when he played showed will power as much as skill!
A third lesson was revealed by Naomi Osaka. The fact that you’re enjoying the company of your team and the collaboration with which you played so much that you wanted to play better just to keep that magical togetherness intact! She kept getting better just by hoping to go on and on till the end of the tournament. She just loved focussing and the fact that they were thrown into their isolated quarantine routine needed only a simple change in perspective. From a dreaded curse, it began to look like a boon to be focused on your goal!
As for the others who competed, on a day one gets inspired and beats the competition and then sinks on the next day or two, to the pits and loses the next match so easily. So, how do you explain performance in the workplace. Must be erratic too. Can’t win everyday at work or at home. Accept it. That there is no way you can control the human mind.
In life as in tennis, just keep doing your best!
Oh yes! In life as in tennis, there is one more way to be successful:
“LOVE ALL! ….. SERVE!”