You fight your way back in the fourth game...

Is it you or your opponent?  I have had this problem with myself and the solution was to play the 5th, just like any other game, but use the information that was gained from the first 4, what serves he likes, what he doesn't like etc.  If you don't adjust he has an advantage and I also have started to keep back a few tricky serves that I don't use until the last game and change your placement ie instead of going cross court, go down the line.

I think its not per game that you should reset, but reset every point.
When it comes to the 5th game and I'm down, I usually tell myself that it's only a game,
and if I play aggressive keeping in mind sound fundamentals, may the best player win.
I try to keep body relaxed, and shots firm and solid - - easier said that done for sure.

for me, i just tell myself that if i fought so hard to catch up the whole match (down 1-2), the pressure is on him to now perform and not for me to perform in the 5th set.

To reset mentaly probably means that you will have to look differently at the fourth game. I think it's the same as coming back from 7-10 to 10 all and then lose 10-12. We tend to set our goal to catch up, either to 2-2 in set, or to 10-10 in points, when our goal should be to win, not to catch up.

So if you are 1-2 down, you set your goal to reach 2-2, so when you step in to play the deciding game, you have already reached your goal, which might make you lose some tension and play a little to relaxed, as your goal have already been reached. I know I used to have this problem when coming back to 10-10 from behind, and it sounds as if you have the same problem.

So, don't focus on catching up, focus on winning all the way. Don't aim for 2-2, aim for 3-2.

chronos wrote: Awesome stuff!!! Leshxa and Speedplay, you guys nailed my exact problem: I set a goal of "even it up at 2-2" then have no goal in the last game, my mental focus dissipates.  I'll try keeping my focus on WINNING, and try to focus on point to point - "win this point" will be the only goal beyond the overall goal of winning the match.  Is that what you guys do?  sunilid, how do you reset between points?Thanks so much for the replies guys.

For me, when I trail 1-2, I always think that there are 2 more sets to be played. I never think about catching up, I always look at how many more sets I need to win to win the match.

It's the same with points, if I'm down 7-10, I don't think "I need 3 points", I always think that I need to win the next 5 points.

This way, I never relax and feel pleased until I have won the match/set. Before, when I thought that I needed 3 points to catch up, once I had 10-10, I was all to happy to have achieved my goal and lost 10-12 in most cases, simply because I had reached the goals I set out to reach.

Fatt, giving up a lead is different, but I try to think pretty much the same way. If I', up 10-7, I try not to think that I have 3 chances to win the set, I think I need one more point. If I lose the first and go to 10-8, my goal stays the same, I still need one more point to win. This gives a nice feeling that despite losing the last point, nothing have changed. When/if they reach 10-10, things changes as I need to win 2 points instead of just one, so I set my focus to win the next 2 points, not just the next point to take the lead.

I guess that regardless of if I'm leading or trailing, I always thik about how many points I need to win to win the match/set.

I NEVER think "I mustn't lose a point here" or something like that, I always try to think positive and about points I must win rather then points I mustn't lose.

I learned to think this way from a golf pro who talked about the power of the mind and that we can do a lot of stuff if we only believe it and think positive thoughts, but as soon as you think "I mustn't miss", then you are pretty much doomed to miss. According to him, the brain don't understand negatives(?) so when you think "I mustn't miss", the brain only understand I must miss. Not sure if this is true or not, but I try to think like this and it's working for me, think what I must do rather then what I mustn't do.

Speedplay wrote: chronos wrote: Awesome stuff!!! Leshxa and Speedplay, you guys nailed my exact problem: I set a goal of "even it up at 2-2" then have no goal in the last game, my mental focus dissipates.  I'll try keeping my focus on WINNING, and try to focus on point to point - "win this point" will be the only goal beyond the overall goal of winning the match.  Is that what you guys do?  sunilid, how do you reset between points?Thanks so much for the replies guys. For me, when I trail 1-2, I always think that there are 2 more sets to be played. I never think about catching up, I always look at how many more sets I need to win to win the match. It's the same with points, if I'm down 7-10, I don't think "I need 3 points", I always think that I need to win the next 5 points. This way, I never relax and feel pleased until I have won the match/set. Before, when I thought that I needed 3 points to catch up, once I had 10-10, I was all to happy to have achieved my goal and lost 10-12 in most cases, simply because I had reached the goals I set out to reach. Fatt, giving up a lead is different, but I try to think pretty much the same way. If I', up 10-7, I try not to think that I have 3 chances to win the set, I think I need one more point. If I lose the first and go to 10-8, my goal stays the same, I still need one more point to win. This gives a nice feeling that despite losing the last point, nothing have changed. When/if they reach 10-10, things changes as I need to win 2 points instead of just one, so I set my focus to win the next 2 points, not just the next point to take the lead. I guess that regardless of if I'm leading or trailing, I always thik about how many points I need to win to win the match/set. I NEVER think "I mustn't lose a point here" or something like that, I always try to think positive and about points I must win rather then points I mustn't lose. I learned to think this way from a golf pro who talked about the power of the mind and that we can do a lot of stuff if we only believe it and think positive thoughts, but as soon as you think "I mustn't miss", then you are pretty much doomed to miss. According to him, the brain don't understand negatives(?) so when you think "I mustn't miss", the brain only understand I must miss. Not sure if this is true or not, but I try to think like this and it's working for me, think what I must do rather then what I mustn't do.

YES!  THIS IS IT.  I needed this Speedplay, this makes perfect sense to me, this is the thought process I need to implement.  You just made my day.

I need to get this engraved on a massive stone tablet to bring with me to matches.

I have a tourney this weekend and I definitely needed this.  I do fall into the trap of "just get it back to even" and that definitely dooms your ability to get ahead of "even".  

Speedplay wrote: chronos wrote: Awesome stuff!!! Leshxa and Speedplay, you guys nailed my exact problem: I set a goal of "even it up at 2-2" then have no goal in the last game, my mental focus dissipates.  I'll try keeping my focus on WINNING, and try to focus on point to point - "win this point" will be the only goal beyond the overall goal of winning the match.  Is that what you guys do?  sunilid, how do you reset between points?Thanks so much for the replies guys. For me, when I trail 1-2, I always think that there are 2 more sets to be played. I never think about catching up, I always look at how many more sets I need to win to win the match. It's the same with points, if I'm down 7-10, I don't think "I need 3 points", I always think that I need to win the next 5 points. This way, I never relax and feel pleased until I have won the match/set. Before, when I thought that I needed 3 points to catch up, once I had 10-10, I was all to happy to have achieved my goal and lost 10-12 in most cases, simply because I had reached the goals I set out to reach. Fatt, giving up a lead is different, but I try to think pretty much the same way. If I', up 10-7, I try not to think that I have 3 chances to win the set, I think I need one more point. If I lose the first and go to 10-8, my goal stays the same, I still need one more point to win. This gives a nice feeling that despite losing the last point, nothing have changed. When/if they reach 10-10, things changes as I need to win 2 points instead of just one, so I set my focus to win the next 2 points, not just the next point to take the lead. I guess that regardless of if I'm leading or trailing, I always thik about how many points I need to win to win the match/set. I NEVER think "I mustn't lose a point here" or something like that, I always try to think positive and about points I must win rather then points I mustn't lose. I learned to think this way from a golf pro who talked about the power of the mind and that we can do a lot of stuff if we only believe it and think positive thoughts, but as soon as you think "I mustn't miss", then you are pretty much doomed to miss. According to him, the brain don't understand negatives(?) so when you think "I mustn't miss", the brain only understand I must miss. Not sure if this is true or not, but I try to think like this and it's working for me, think what I must do rather then what I mustn't do.

Thanks for the insight Speedplay, it is most helpful...