Agassi and Federer conveyed this positive sort of body language,
and to even use an example of a past World No. 1 - Stefan Edberg
from the 80's - whose coach instantly began working on his negative
body language as soon as he began working with him, and the results
to follow for him were awesome.
You
see, body language also has a huge impact upon your own game.
It
is a fact that if you simply forced yourself to use positive
body language on court (eg. even just walking faster between points)
your mind simply has no choice but send positive commands
through to your body - and so your tennis level immediately
increases.
You
see, while it's your mind that controls your body, your body
influences your mind,
through its body language!
So
if you ever need to rapidly increase your standard of play, change
your body language, quickly!
If
you begin to watch another tennis match, you rarely need to see the scoreboard
to know the score if one player is well ahead - as you can instantly tell who
is winning through the positive and negative body language, being
displayed by the winning and losing player!
So
if you find yourself locked even in the 3rd set (eg. 3 games all),
this is when your positive body language can have a very powerful
effect upon your opponent - as they will begin to believe that you
are simply not as tired or frustrated as they are, and begin
to wonder "what does it take for something to get to
him (or her) ?"
Once
thoughts like this run through your opponent's mind, you are very
close to making the vital break and cruising to a victory.
Last
but not least, make sure you keep an eye on your opponent's
body language for signs that they are becoming frustrated or tired,
as they often give you some major insights as to when they are
reaching breaking point and about to crack under the pressure.
Watch
for shaking of their head after a point, muttering or yelling at
themselves, looking downwards, walking slowly (not when used as
a delaying tactic however, this is quite different) and breathing
very heavily after points, especially if they take extra time
or squat down to rest in between points.
Body
language is all a part of the mental warfare that a competitive tennis match involves,
so ensure you begin to add this aspect of your game if you are a serious tournament
or competitive player.
