Snatching Victory From The Jaws of Defeat
In the recently concluded finals of the French Open, tennis-great Novak Djokovic came from two sets down to clinch the title. That set me thinking: what is it that goes into the making of a champion like Novak Djokovic?
At the level of Stefanos Tsitsipas (against whom Djokovic played in the finals) and Djokovic, practice is a given. As the “The Louisville Lip”, Muhammad Ali, said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’.”
Then there is the matter of temperament. Big Match Temperament is the ability to outperform your opponent, silence critics, turn away from any inner doubt, and win on the big stage.
In cricket too there’s a parallel. On March 14, 2001, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, India’s batsmen, produced one of the greatest fightbacks in the history of Test cricket to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Australia. They stitched a historic stand at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to help India win the game despite being asked to follow-on by Australia.
Coming back to the Djokovic win, I think it’s a triumph of mind over matter. Two sets down, Djokovic must have managed to silence his mind-chatter; or else turned a totally deaf ear to it. In all situations in life it’s important to be aware of the mind’s chatter, and focus on your goal — whatever be it.
I remember taking a driving test in Doha, Qatar. At the start of the test I was assailed by self-doubt. The mind started playing out its shenanigans. I took a grip on myself, recalled all the training imparted to me by my driving instructor, turned a deaf ear to the mind’s chatter, and cleared my test successfully.
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic on a historic win.
