Tennis & Psychology: How Roger Federer Overcame Himself to Make History

We all know that Roger Federer made history on Sunday, winning the French Open for the first time in career, and in doing so equalling that Grand Slam record set by Pete Sampras.

The Swiss maestro also became only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles.

But enough about that, as I'm sure most of you know about Federer's historic achievement.

You know how he defeated Sweden's Robin Soderling, with the shots he played, his aces, Soderling's errors, etc.

And you also know there was that moment in the second set. When the overzealous spectator came running onto the court, going up to Federer and waving that flag in front of his face, jumping over the net and attempting to run at Soderling as well.  

Before promptly being rugby-tackled, taken off the court, and that being that.

Well of course it wasn't just that, as many pointed out for the rest of that game Federer was rattled; for those few minutes he just couldn't keep 100 percent focus on the court.

Not that it mattered greatly though. He was one set up and it was on Soderling's game that he lost anyway, and in any case he was back to normal soon after, hitting those strokes to perfection on the march to a well-deserved and well-fought out victory.

Actually, it would've mattered greatly had his Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) axis not been activated.

"Oh God, there he goes again! Sullying the sports community with all this edumacated lingo!" Don't worry, I'll explain.

When that spectator came onto the court, as he ran up to Roger Federer he instantly became a stressor (i.e. something that causes stress) to the Swiss superstar.

It was stressful for Federer because, as with any other human being, he didn't know who this spectator was, or what he was going to do. For all Federer knew, that man could've stabbed him, or even worse!

So at this point, while the spectator is still bouncing around the court trying to entertain the world (and perhaps say, "look Mum, I'm on the telly!"), Roger Federer is starting to feel a form of stress.

Cue part one of the bodily response to stress, and step forward Mr. Sympathetic-Adrenomedullary (SAM) system.

After Federer has identified his stressor (the spectator), his SAM system kicked in, as it always does, to be the first response to stress and help the Swiss player cope with the stress feeling quickly.

This SAM system pumps the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline into the blood stream, which in turn gives Federer this evolutionary "Fight or Flight" attitude.

As the spectator dances around and then gets rugby-tackled, and Soderling continues with play, Federer is forced to play tennis with the full effects of the SAM system taking place in his body.

For the remainder of the game, his body (SAM system) gave him an increased energy level than before the stressor came, as well as a higher heart rate and breathing rate.

It was impossible for him to concentrate 100 percent on the tennis, as he suddenly felt a lot different.

As the cliché goes, he could feel the adrenaline pumping.

At that pinprick on the 2009 Roland Garros Final time-map, Soderling was not subject as fully as Federer to the stressor that intruded the court, as the spectator did not make it to the Swede in time, and so the No. 23 seed had a psychological advantage over his more superior opponent for the remainder of the game.

Therefore, Roger Federer had defeated himself through his SAM system. His increased energy level, heart rate and breathing rate, meant that he couldn't perform his ground strokes and move around the court like he wanted, and subsequently meant he had to surrender the game to his opponent.

Oh no, a shaken Roger Federer!? Is he going to crumble now and lose this elusive Grand Slam title?

Federer in trouble meant only one thing for the Swiss tennis star. Cue part two of the bodily response to stress, and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical axis, which can be called the HPA axis for short.

The HPA axis is the "counter-shock" system to the SAM system, and deals with reversing the effects of the SAM system.

In other words, it calms you down.

So never fear Roger Federer, you'll be okay in the next game. And as you all saw, he was, back hitting those shots to perfection, just like pre-SAM system Roger Federer.

His HPA axis came to his rescue, dramatically lowering the depletion of resources and meaning he no longer felt any effects of an increased heart rate and breathing rate, nor the effects of an increased energy level.

Physically he felt nothing was wrong inside his body anymore, which "cleared him up" psychologically.

The HPA axis took out the SAM system if you like, neutralising its effects. This meant Federer had overcame his temporary psychological problems which resulted from the spectator running on the court.

Through the much-needed help of the HPA axis, Soderling no longer had a psychological advantage as his opponent now felt the same as him.

Roger Federer had managed to beat himself psychologically, the HPA axis coming in to beat off the good-willing but in the long-term harmful effects of the SAM system.

And now we all know what happened after that; Federer won that set in the tie-break and then won the subsequent set to beat Robin Soderling and make history.

Roger Federer had psychologically won against himself, and it was this win which enabled him to beat Soderling.

And well, the rest, you must admit, is history.

Did the HPA axis impress you? If you want to be like Roger Federer, just get yourself into a stressful situation on a clay tennis court against a Swedish opponent, and let that SAM system kick-in. The HPA axis will come to your rescue, and you can claim a psychological win over yourself, just like Federer!

Photo courtesy of The Telegraph.