Out of form during a tournament

Dear  alois,

Whenever i play in a big tournement eg the fiji open i get nervous and i don't play the way i normally do. what should i do to overcome this ? 

Josh. 

Hi Josh,

Nerves are something that everyone feels.  The first thing is to recognise the feeling when you are starting to get nervous during a match.  Wen you do, go back to something that you are familiar with such as a breath.  Take a deep breath and then focus on your strategy for the next point.

Also realise that the person at the other end of the table is definitely feeling some sort of nerves as well.

I heard a few players this year at the Australian Open Tennis say, winning matches was about being better than the player at the other end. You don't necessarily have to be brilliant on the day, just better than your opponent.  So you don't have to feel totally under control, just under control enough for you to win the match.  This is an interesting way of looking at things.