aprice - it sounds as though you got anxious to win and panicked, especially as the match started to slip away. Your head/mind at this time probably lost focus and started a dialogue which caused you to lose confidence, eg I am going to lose this match, the opponent is playing better, I don't know what shots to play, I better slow down to make sure I do not make errors, I only need one more point etc.. Obviously your game plan was working to be up 8:3. There can be a tendency to change the plan that was working without realising it, eg stop attacking with the idea of not making an error, and that then gives the opponent more time, or maybe just keep hitting the ball back but not really putting any pressure on the opponent, freezing when doing drop shots and either hitting the tin or hitting the ball too high. Remember too, your opponent has nothing to lose when down this far, to just put their head down and tail up and try their hardest; and this strategy can cause rushing making touch shots more difficult, and the rallies longer. The longer the rally goes the more anxious you become, then comes the short breathing - a viscious circle. Next time, just forget the score (match ball is just another point), keep focussing on good length, the corners, making the opponent run, don't change the plan, keep volleying, throw in a surprise serve, no errors.

A few questions come to mind as well, which you may not be aware, eg did the opponent change their game at 8:3 and either speed up or slow down, relax and forget the winning and just play without any pressure, play more short shots (boasts, drops) when you might have been expecting length.

It is very frustrating. However, to be able to work through this mental game, you do need to try to understand what actually happened, so you can be more aware of what to do next time. Did you lose those last five points, or did the opponent win them with smart play?

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I was pondering this today as i failed to close out a match at 8:3 in the 4th, to win 3-1 and ran out of time, i must have had 6 or 7 shots to finish it and jsut didn't manage it.  How much of it was tiredness and how much psychological and lacking the tactical nous to finish the rallies i don't really know.  My opponent upped his game but one good serve should have had him, i was feeling rushed and should have takena deep breath and concentrated on the serve rather than rushing to make sure i had time for the serve.  On the plus i managed not to lose my temper today and chillax a bit!

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