Psychology Down Under:
The Mental Side of the Australian Open

by Dr. Roland A. Carlstedt

The Australian Open, although 4th in the Grand Slam prestige pecking order, has always been my favorite slam. Here's what I and most players like about the Australian Open:

1. Downtown Melbourne, the city in which it is played is not sprawling, with everything you need and use including hotels, restaurants, and the actual tennis facility being within walking distance.
2. Aussies are some of, if not the most friendly and hospitable people on the planet and they really appreciate visitors, especially famous people and world-class athletes who make the long journey to their cherished venue.
3. An incredible tennis facility that set the standard for the other slams, causing the French, U.S. Open, and finally Wimbledon to follow suit and provide players and guests the best possible tennis infrastructure and  amenities.

The above has psychological ramifications, both positive and negative. On one hand the Australian Open can be much less stressful on players than the other slams, to the point of actually being relaxing. Needing only five minutes by car or 10-15 minutes walking to get to the courts is a luxury when compared to the 45 to 90 minutes you can need at the U.S. Open. On the other hand the low-key environment and lack of certain external stressors can lull you into a state of relaxation or under-activation that is not always conducive to peak performance. Overall, I've noticed more one-sided matches and upsets at the Australian Open, as well as walk-overs (defaults midstream in a match), and lackluster efforts on the part of players you'd expect more of.

Although the Australian Open has less modern urban stressors it can be cruel and harsh in terms of weather and consistency of conditions. I've experienced 55 and 100 degree temperatures in Melbourne. You can have stretches when you think you are in Northern California in early Fall, or experience 3 seasons and types of weather in the course of a day, even a match. That's why many fans shake their heads when seeing weird and unexpected results. 

Back home, when reading the scores of matches, many wonder how a player who dominated for 3 matches suddenly gets blown away in a fourth match. It could have been that such a player after playing 3 matches in mild weather or at night suddenly has the misfortune of playing in 100 degree sunshine. You can also easily  fall victim to heat exhaustion. Many a player, who has cruised along during a temperate weather phase, has collapsed because of a major temperature swing including Michael Chang, Nicolas Kiefer, and others. Many players are just not accustomed to the heat.

Essentially, you do not know what to expect in Melbourne because the Australian Open can play havoc with your timing. Changes in the weather have a major effect on the speed of the ball, the way it bounces, and even the way the court plays. Rebound Ace actually gets sticky as the temperature gets into the 90s. Imagine feeling that you are sinking into the court, and then sticking to the surface as you try to push off. The next day when it drops into the 60s or low 70s the court suddenly feels slick, the ball stays low and it's easy to slip and slide. 

Combine the positive off-the-court environment with erratic weather and conditions and you'll encounter wide variability in playing standards. I've seen some incredible matches at the Australian Open, but overall, the quality of matches is not that great, but you will usually have more upsets and greater surprises than at other slams. 

Other factors contributing to erratic play down under include time zone changes, jet lag, and the fact that the Australian Open is the first slam of the year, and even the first tournament for some players. Although there are enough lead-up tournaments, some are in the middle East, India, and New Zealand and include a wide variety of conditions dissimilar to Melbourne.

I get the impression that the Australian Open is more of a warm-up tournament for many players an attitude that is unfortunate.

My most memorable moments at the Australian Open include:

1. Pat McEnroe getting to the semifinals.
2. John McEnroe beating Boris Becker in an incredible night match late in Mac's career.
3. The Sampras-Courier match coming on the heals of his coaches' death.
4. The press center and stadium court being flooded during a monsoon-like storm; you should have seen Bud Collins on top of his desk to avoid drowning and still writing away.
5. The Williams sisters ignoring the fact I was talking to the hotel concierge, interrupting my conversation, and worse yet, having the concierge ignore me and talk to the girls before answering my question. My first encounter with the dynamic duo. A Sport Psychologist will never be a star!

The Australian Open 2002:

Coming into this year's Australian Open what interests me the most is the mental status of Pete Sampras.

He's been doing some weird Sampras-unlike things, including firing his coach, then firing/rehiring his management group and is even considering walking away from Nike.

Sampras appears to be in a tennis mid-life crisis. His behavior illustrates a degree of helplessness that we often see in players nearing the end of their careers. No longer being able to dominate physically and technically older players often become confused and unable to recognize that there is a major disparity between their mental and physical games. They often possess a self-image that is rooted in the past, they know what they have achieved, are still very self-confident and determined, but do not know what to do to find their past on-court prowess in order to maintain the mind-body harmony so important to peak performance. 

Major incongruence between their self-image and the reality of their present game-state and standing in the eyes of their competitors eventually erodes their self-confidence and ability to adjust and change to contend with a new emerging game and cadre of competitors. At this point the champions arrogance (in context of competition and attitudes toward one's competitors) comes back to haunt them. I recall how Sampras once scoffed at the thought of working with a Sport Psychologist, having the real Nike "just do it" attitude. Little did he know that what was once so automatic would someday be difficult, and that by learning about himself and the psychology of the game, he could have prepared himself mentally for the difficult transition period he is now going through.

Sport Psychology is not only about enhancing an athlete's immediate performance, but also helping a player learn more about him or herself with the goal being to adapt to changing conditions surrounding the physical, technical, and mental game an older player experiences. Many players have gone through rough times psychologically, including Chang, McEnroe and Becker with perhaps only Connors emerging relatively unscathed in terms of being happy with his late career performance. 

The bottom line is that Sampras is looking in the wrong places. Superficial changes and the belief a "change of scenery" will propel him to his former stature as a player is misguided and mythical. Now is the time to apply  psychology and what we know about motor learning, adaptive processes, and aging in athletes to restructure or create a new Pete Sampras, a Sampras that learns to change with the times in order to achieve realistic goals that will keep his self-and outer image in tact.

I don't expect this to occur, not at the Australian Open or ever unless Sampras turns to Sport Psychology something I doubt will ever occur. It is part of the training equation that is most lacking and oftentimes not  existent. An athlete has to be schooled in sport and self-psychology from day one. It really is hard to "teach an old dog new tricks."

Anyway, I'll be following the Australian Open the next fortnight and will check in with psychoanalyses whenever something noteworthy occurs down under.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you about think this article by emailing us here at TennisONE.

Dr. Roland A. Carlstedt has followed the professional tennis tours since 1985, fulltime from 1989-1998 in which he on average attended 25 tournaments a year including all Grand Slam events and important Davis Cup ties. During this time he complied perhaps the most extensive database in existence on the psychological performance, tendencies, and profiles of most ATP and WTA players. His annual Psychological World Rankings for Tennis have been published since 1991 more than 500 times in over 40 countries. His rankings and data are based on his Psychological Observation System for Tennis. Interestingly his 2000 rankings which were released prior to the 2001 Australian Open had 2 of 4 semifinalists and 8 of 16 quarterfinalists on them including such unlikely players as Arnaud Clement and Sebastian Grossjean. His 2001 rankings will appear in TennisONE at the end of the year.