Let Go Of A Mistake

A last thought as provoked by the tennis just gone.

The undoubted turning point of the Nadal-Murray semi-final was at 15-30 Nadal serving, at 1-2 down and having lost the first set. It was beautifully illuminated by Boris Johnson thus;

Poor old Andy Murray. He was only a ginger whisker away. It was just a shot, they say, that barred him from the glory of the Wimbledon final. We all saw the moment in the second set when he had Nadal pinned and wriggling, with the whole of the right hand court exposed. All Andy had to do was keep his cool and thump it over with all the skill and violence we know him to possess; and then he mishit and whoof – it was like a soufflé taken too early from the oven.

Nadal went on a seven-game run from which the result was never in doubt. Here’s just one example of how a tennis reporter described the event;

This match could be neatly divided into two parts; pre- and post-blooper.

Before that forehand error, Murray was smoking winners through the grass; he was managing to out-Rafa Rafa, making more kill-shots on that side.

Post-mistake, Murray’s level fell away, and Nadal raised his.

The media have rolled out all sorts of talking heads to dissect what happened. The most appropriate insight I heard was from someone quoting Kevin Dutton. An eminence I now feel compelled to explore further. Paraphrasing, his work commands that;

the difference with champions is their ability to “let go of a mistake” and move forward

Andy Murray take note.