Arthur Fils is world No. 8 this week, the best ranking of his career. In L’Équipe, he said: “I tell myself that, I know that when I step on court, the guy is scared of me.”
Silly question, but how do you know a tennis player is scared? In football, you see a defender back off. In tennis, everyone is already at the back of the court, in silence, with a towel. A terrified player and a calm one make exactly the same moves: bounce the ball, look at the strings, breathe out.
I reread the article on the 7:32 train. Fils explains that when he arrived on tour, he told himself everyone was already wary of him. He calls it self-persuasion. When he was younger, he was convinced his opponents were afraid, and it became real once he started winning big matches and big tournaments.
So the order is: first you believe it, then it’s true. I found that very beautiful. I tried it the same morning: I told myself the ticket inspector was wary of me. He asked for my season ticket. Exactly as usual.
He also says: “I prefer telling myself that rather than putting all the players on a pedestal, walking on court and not being able to play.” That, I understand very well. I put everyone on a pedestal, including the newsroom coffee machine.
He lost in the semi-finals in Brussels. I wonder whether his opponent was scared anyway, and just played very well despite the fear. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
Me, the opponent is never scared. But she gets cold under the bubble (the inflatable hall), which is almost the same thing.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
