I have to use other things to help my tennis, like my brain. But I believe that, even when your muscles are not so fast, with the brain and with concentration you can compensate.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When I'm playing well because of my serve and trying to keep points shorter, I don't need to worry about my opponent. All I need to do is focus on myself and have them adjust to me rather than me adjust to them. That's when I play my best tennis.
Tennis is all about mental toughness, and you have to keep your head in the game. I make time to relax away from competition pressures, travel and intense training schedules to make sure I'm looking after myself. Taking time out with family and friends helps to maintain the work-life balance everyone needs.
I always try to have something that keeps my mind relaxed, keeps my mind a little bit off tennis.
Core strength and stability is very important to me. Tennis is all about rotation of the body and my ability to create power. I incorporate a lot of abdominal, back and glute exercises into my gym sessions.
You can't underestimate rest. Sometimes in tennis we don't realize that to rest your body is as important as it is to practice. We are traveling so much, all year, in different conditions, different courts, different surfaces, different balls - so we always have to adapt.
I'm really trying to focus myself on playing tennis, and I think that's really important.
Practice puts brains in your muscles.
Tennis is a big puzzle. It's not any more physical or mental; you have to have all the pieces first, and then you have to put all the pieces together. For me, it took me time.
It was very hard for me to practice and enjoy my tennis, and I didn't know the why, so I worked with psychologists to try and see what was happening. They pushed me really hard.
Tennis is a psychological sport, you have to keep a clear head. That is why I stopped playing.