"Under pressure we stop moving our feet firstly"- Chris Evert backs Gilles Simon's comments on players' reactions when making errors
Tennis icon Chris Evert backed Gilles Simon's comments on making errors. The Frenchman, who recently retired, was asked how players can stop making too many errors during a recent conversation with French outlet L'Equipe.
Simon had a very detailed response to the question, stating that players "stop moving their legs" once they make a lot of errors. He claimed that putting an end to it was difficult and that it took a lot of training to do so.
"It's rather tough. It takes a lot of training. When we make lots of errors, we unconsciously stop moving the legs. We focus on technique to try and hit the ball well. But this surplus of attention on technique and the arm leads you to playing from a fixed position. We tell ourselves we're in a good spot, we put ourselves in a position earlier than usual. We concentrate and in doing so, we lose rhythm and fluidity," Simon said.
"In fact, the days we play well are the days we move well and hitting the ball is no longer an issue. We don't even think about it. On the other hand, when the errors are piling up, any shot becomes a challenge. The advice would be nonetheless to move your feet and after to concentrate not on the shots, meaning how you hit the ball but WHERE you are going to hit it," he added.
Chris Evert agreed with Simon's statements, particularly the part about players stopping moving their feet when they're under pressure.
"This is SO true, under pressure we stop moving our feet firstly! Well said @GillesSimon84," the former World No. 1 tweeted.
This is SO true, under pressure we stop moving our feet firstly! Well said @GillesSimon84 twitter.com/christophclare…
Evert further added that players should start from the ground up when they start making too many errors.
"To continue my thought, you go from the ground up, like roots in a tree," she tweeted.
To continue my thought, you go from the ground up, like roots in a tree… twitter.com/christophclare…
Chris Evert's response when reminded of her competitive spirit during her playing days
Chris Evert recently responded to a social media post mentioning her memorable quote about her competitive spirit on the court.
Author Mike Lupica recalled asking the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion what would go on in her mind whenever she was trailing in a match, to which Evert replied by saying that she would visualize her opponent's reaction at the net when she lost and that often helped her.
Evert reacted to Lupica's tweet by calling her statement brutal.
"Yikes, that's brutal," she tweeted along with a few emojis.
🤔🫣🤦♀️ twitter.com/mikelupica/sta…
Yikes…that’s brutal….😳🤔🫣🤦♀️ twitter.com/mikelupica/sta…