Mason Astley's APC Journal - Comments

Mason Astley comments on Quotes Talk 3

Mason Astley — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:06:47 +0000

Yeah, actually he won the Grand Slam Cup at the end of 1990 and the Tour Finals in '91 (after famously saying that losing to Courier in that year's US Open was like a ton of bricks had been lifted off him), but overall, he said he wished he had been a little older when he had won his first Slam. The media hit him pretty hard for a while. Second Slam?
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.Wimbledon in '93.

Curtis comments on Quotes Talk 3

Curtis — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:11:58 +0000

Interesting stuff. I totally agree with your final point. Pete has said he was too young to let the moment get to him in '90, and I think it was another couple years before he won another ATP event. He obviously learned and drew from the experience, but his confidence in his abilities would have served him well in his career even had he not won that day.

Looking forward to new posts.

Best,
Curtis
p.s. thanks for the kind words regarding the site

Mason Astley comments on Quotes Talk 3

Mason Astley — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:42:46 +0000

Hey Curtis,

Good point. Let me try to elucidate.

I actually meant to show that Pete is indeed extremely skilled mentally. I was anticipating the criticism that his physical talents are what allowed him to have faith. You're completely right that many players with bigger serves have faltered without reaching near his level of accomplishment.

I think I could have looked a little harder at the word "abilities." I think I was approaching it in terms of "ability," as in talent. Talent, as a concept, makes me defensive because too much emphasis is placed on it. What I think he actually has faith in is his ability to compete, that is to use the skills, or "abilities," he has at the most needed moment. His ability to compete without fear, was based on this idea of having faith in his abilities.

I think it depends on "when" we're talking about in terms of Pete Sampras. Prime Pete had a lot of experience trusting his abilities (and his serve...), and he left the game before those abilities deteriorated too much. Proto-Pete, like when he first won the US Open, now that was more of a leap of faith. It's actually the Catch-22 of confidence in general: The largest fuel for confidence is past performance, but without confidence, how can you achieve something for the first time? Pete put it together at 17 to win the US Open, and was able to use that as a source of confidence for the rest of his career. It's interesting to think about whether he would have had the same career (for the most part) had he not won that day. I'd argue that if he had lost but stayed true to his approach, he would have achieved roughly the same amount.

Cheers,

Mason

PS - Love your site/want your job in my hypothetical other life.

Curtis comments on Quotes Talk 3

Curtis — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:15:51 +0000

Hey Mason, nice article! Not sure I totally agree on the opening sentence, about it being "easier" for Pete. I think that undermines the point of your article a little. Pete's talents weren't just his prodigious physical gifts but his ability to employ them under pressure. Look how many great (i.e. physically talented) servers have had reputations for breaking down under pressure over the years. It's an interesting catch-22: how much did Pete's innate confidence fuel his physical skills, and how much did his physical talent (that "live arm" if you will) fuel his confidence? Your thoughts?

Curtis
p.s. welcome to SquareSpace.

Mason Astley comments on Rules Disputes and Bad Line Calls

Mason Astley — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:17:24 +0000

Hi Brian,

Thanks for dropping in! I guess I wasn't able to obscure who I was talking about completely. I'm not sure it matters, either way, but I'm not trying to call attention to him specifically. There certainly are a number of guys who act like him to one degree or another.

And, years later, I'm not sorry I went through it. It's part of the process and I think it made me tougher. You're absolutely right that you have to have a broad range of things your ready for when playing someone like this. This guy is creative, and it's your reaction to the unexpected thing he does that makes the difference.

This guy talks about these tactics a lot: http://www.sportsharking.com/

Cheers,

Mason

Brian Lomax comments on Rules Disputes and Bad Line Calls

Brian Lomax — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:14:43 +0000

Hi Mason,

I know exactly who 'Jim' is and that type of behavior is standard operating procedure for him. When playing Jim, I find that I have to be prepared for an incident no matter what and treat it as normal. His goal is to distract one from focusing on the match so if I'm ready for the incident, I'm able to get through it much more quickly.

Sorry you had to go through that.