Even Champions Choke

By Allen Fox, Ph.D.

Steffi combined shot making with remarkable grace under pressure.

I have tremendous admiration for Steffi Graf. Her character was so strong, so practical, and so perfectly competitive that I am in awe of the way she played the game.

Even though Steffi has been retired for several years, her famous husband still judges his achievements in comparison to hers. If we look back at a few of her memorable matches we can all learn some basic lessons about how to compete.

It is not simply the fact that Steffi won so many Grand Slam titles that intrigues me; it is the way she won them. Her shots are, of course, wonderful as well, but it is her grace under pressure that brought me to the edge of my seat.

The French Open final Steffi played against Aranxta Sanchez Vicario toward the end of her career is a good example Graf won the first set 6-4 and held a commanding 4-1 lead in the second set tiebreaker. She was so close to her fifth French singles Championship that she could taste it.

Then the incredible happened. Graf made a couple of easy errors, started to think, develop doubts, choke, yes, choke. Steffi ended up giving away the set on four consecutive errors and a double fault.

Which of us has not had a similar experience (although not in the finals of a major championship)? We have all wanted to win an important match, had a lead, reached the brink of victory, gotten excited, started to think, choked, and then blown our leads. The interesting difference between Graf and the rest of us, however, is in what happened after the choke.

At a set all Vicario seemed to have turned the tide of battle and was in the driver's seat all the way. Steffi was a little down, having choked away her chance for a straight set victory.

Vicario moved to a 4-2 lead and had several chances to go up 5-2. Graf fought to keep the set close. Vicario served for the match at 5-4 but Graf dodged that bullet and evened the score at 5-5. Maybe Steffi was making her move? But no, only more disappointment.

Four games later Vicario served for the match again at 7-6. At this stage most people would have concluded that it was simply not their day. Graf was tired, had thrown away her chances due to weakness of nerve, and had been teetering on the brink of defeat for the past hour.

Her hopes had been dashed again and again. Any normal mortal would have weakened just enough to give Vicario the match. But of course Graf fought on and ultimately won the Championship.

What can we learn from this? We can see how a champion reacts when she chokes and try to emulate her attitude when we choke, as we are sure to do from time to time. Steffi accepted with equanimity the fact that she had choked and derailed her chances of an early victory, but the attitude that saved her was her belief that choking was not necessarily going to make her lose.

She did not look at choking as a character flaw that was going to be her undoing on this day. Choking meant only that as the third set commenced Graf was even rather than having already won.

She was prepared to fight out the remainder of the match on the same basis that she fights out all three set matches. And deep in her heart she knows that if she does this she usually wins.

This is the crucial attitudinal difference between Steffi and many tennis players. Most of us are fearful. Against a difficult opponent in an important situation we are afraid that we may not have the 'stuff' it takes to be a winner.

We become most likely to choke when we get ahead and the match is apparently ours for the taking. We become afraid that our opponents will, at this last crucial instant, manage to wiggle free. We know that this is our golden opportunity to win and fear that if we falter now we will not get another chance.

The feeling that we must win now or never is a tremendous source of pressure. And the most debilitating attitude of all is that choking is a character deficiency, proof that we are not 'winners.'

So after choking many players lose confidence and courage. They are discouraged not just because they lost a few points, but more so because they think they don't have 'it.'

They may gamely attempt to fight on but their confidence is shattered, their resolve is weak, and they become unlikely to come up with their best tennis in the next crucial situation. And because of this attitude they will usually ultimately lose.

Steffi Graf is not admirable because she is without fear. She certainly has her fears. She is admirable because she doesn't allow them to debilitate her.

Steffi Graf was a great champion, not because she was without fears, but because she never allowed them to debilitate her.

And just to show that choking and still winning the French final was not a fluke, Steffi also choked in the Wimbledon final the same year. Up a set and 4-0 she was absolutely killing Vicario. Then, almost by luck, Vicario won a game.

You could virtually see Steffi starting to think. Incredible mistakes made their way into her game. She lost her serve by whiffing the shortest overhead imaginable at 30-40. Serving for the match at 5-4, Steffi served two double faults to lose the game.

Then at 5-all she regained control of herself, played two excellent games, and won her seventh Wimbledon. She is truly a great champion.