Rafael Nadal, Team USA and Roger Federer: If not inspiring, then what?

What a day it has been for sports fans…

First up: Rafael Nadal progressed to the third round at Wimbledon 2014 by defeating Lukas Rosol after being nearly down by two sets.

Second up: The underdogs (Team USA) who no one (except Jurgen Klinsmann and his 23 players probably) gave even the slightest chance to win a match, let alone advance through the next round from the Group of Death in World Cup 2014, did exactly that by avoiding a big loss against Germany.

Third Up: Roger Federer, who will be turning 33 next month, played a sublime match to advance to the next round at Wimbledon.

If you are a sports fan like me, you have to be pumped up after seeing what we saw yesterday in the world of sports.

In all the three matches, the one common theme that was evident was how every result depended on the will-power and belief of the players.

If you watched the match between Nadal and Rosol, you have got to wonder how a player can time again and again, come back from being a set down and still win the match. Nadal was not only a set down, he also faced a set point in the second set. But as it always happens – since it is Nadal we are talking about here, the man whose nerves are made of steel – he faced the point, won it and then went on to win the set.

What is it about Nadal that makes him so tough to beat? The answer lies in the statement that he made after the match: “I was just trying to fight. I was waiting for my moment, trying to find my moment.”

For a moment let’s understand his statement very carefully:

“I was just trying to fight” – To me it shows how Nadal plays point by point and does not get overwhelmed by the situation. To him, it is very clear – he has to fight every single point that he plays. He doesn’t believe in giving gifts to his opponents by making an unforced error, and makes sure that the opponent wins by his own brilliance.

Lesson 1: Fight for every point in life or in a match. No matter what situation you are in, give your best without worrying about the consequences. 

“I was waiting for my moment, trying to find my moment.” – Rosol was playing brilliantly until the end of the second set and he would have continued to play like this if Nadal would not have persevered in the second set in spite of being a break down. Like Nadal said, he was waiting for the moment when he would have an advantage and to me, that is a clear sign of a winner. As soon he got his first set point at 7-6 in the second set tiebreaker, it was clear to everyone that he would grab a stranglehold on the match from there. We all know this isn’t the first time Nadal has done this, we can all ask Roger Federer about it... 

Lesson 2: There are going to be situations in matches or in life when things will not go in your favour. You just have to hang in there and wait for your moments. Believe it or not, after a certain point you will get a small window of opportunity and if you are alert, you will seize it and leave behind the chances of failure comfortably. 

About the USA match, I will just write one small paragraph (if you want to read in detail, you can click on this link). I am pretty sure no one even imagined that USA would advance ahead of Portugal and Ghana from this group of death. Jurgen Klinsmann said after the match:

“Nobody gave them a chance but we took the chance”.

The critics had completely ruled out their chances of advancing, and yet they progressed.

Lesson 3: No matter what people say about your chances of success, they have no clue at all about the reality. The reality is only defined by YOU. If you think you can, you will. Shut the critics out from your life and focus on your goals, preparation and how you can move forward. 

As far as Roger Federer is concerned, I will be back in my next article after his third round match on Saturday to express what we, as sports fans can learn from this champion. Remember that in spite of his age, he continues to fight on against players younger than him by 5-10 years.

So in the end I will end with this statement:

“It doesn’t matter what others think about your chances of success as long as you believe in yourself. Give your 100 percent in every moment, fight it out and even if the going gets tough, hang in there to wait for your moment. When the moment comes, make sure you are ready to pounce upon it with full force.”