7:03 am | July 8, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
WIMBLEDON — When 23-time Grand Slam champ Serena Williams and unseeded Evgania Rodina, the 120th-ranked player in the world, walk onto Centre Court for their fourth-round match on Monday, one of them will face a player with the mentality that she has nothing to lose.
Unfortunately for Rodina, that player is Williams. And that mindset is even more dangerous than Serena’s punishing serve.
“I just feel like, OK, I have nothing to lose at this point,” Williams said Friday after her third-round win against French player Kristina Mladenovic. “I have absolutely nothing to prove. Everything is a bonus.”
Nothing to lose. Those are words more typically heard from unranked, unproven players — or, more likely, from their coaches or sports psychologists — and it’s a phrase that was tossed around a lot during the first week at Wimbledon, as top seed after top seed bowed out at the hands of unseeded underdogs. It’s sports-psych shorthand for a player who, unburdened by the weight of pre-match expectations, has the luxury of playing freely and aggressively, unlike their defensive-minded counterparts across the net.
When No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki lost to Russian lefty Ekaterina Makarova in the second round, she told reporters it was difficult to find her rhythm against a woman who was playing so far above her typical level of play. “I don’t know that she will be able to keep up this level for the rest of the tournament,” Wozniacki said.
Of the nine top-10 women’s seeds who went out in the first week, four lost to players ranked outside of the top 50 and one, American Madison Keys, lost against a woman ranked outside of the top 100 (Rodina). Keys said she struggled to maintain her focus, especially when she fell behind, and admitted it has been an issue for her now that she carries the weight of top-10 expectations into her matches.
“It’s definitely been a challenge that I have had to deal with, where, all of a sudden, I’m the one that’s supposed to win and people are playing with nothing to lose and playing their best tennis [against me],” Keys said. “A lot of times you just have to weather the storm and play better on those big points. The fact [Serena’s] basically done that her whole career is really impressive.”
That mindset is powerful because it makes it easier to take risks. And often, big risks mean big rewards. That’s true in life, in business, and on a tennis court. But when the player with that mindset is the greatest in the history of the game, it’s especially potent.
“A lot of the top players are losing, but they’re losing to girls that are playing outstanding,” said Williams. “If anything, it shows me every moment that I can’t underestimate any of these ladies.”
It never comes as a surprise to Williams when a lesser-ranked opponent performs at, or beyond, her best. Knowing that will likely be the case, she prepares for every match with the mentality that she will have to elevate her game to meet her opponent at her very best.
“Everyone comes out and they play me so hard, but it kind of backfires,” Williams said. “Now, my level is so much higher because of it, from years and years of being played like that. Every single match I play, whether I’m coming back from a baby or surgery, it doesn’t matter. These young ladies, they bring a game that I’ve never seen before.
“I don’t even scout as much because, when I watch them play, it’s a totally different game than when they play me. That’s what makes me great: I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater.”
A player with nothing to lose is likely not thinking about the fallout from a potential loss against a top-ranked player — she wasn’t expected to win in the first place. A player with nothing to lose is fearless, and that makes her an opponent to fear.
“Every time I step out there, I know what I’m capable of. I know every Grand Slam, I’ve won them. I’m capable of just going out there and enjoying it,” Williams said. “That’s amazing, you know. There’s only a handful of people that can say that they don’t have to do anything else in their career.”
There is one other player who, after sailing into the second week without dropping a set, admitted to having a similar mindset to that of Williams.
“I will never underestimate anybody,” eight-time Wimbledon champ Roger Federer said after his third-round win on Friday. “I think that keeps me in check.”
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