What if the problem you thought you had, was not really the problem at all?
The first 3 times that Boris Becker played Andre Aggasi he beat him.
1988 Indian Wells 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
1989 USA v Germany 6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4
1989 Masters 6-1, 6-3
The main reason Agassi could not beat Becker was that he found it hard to pick the direction of his serves.
Then in 1990, it all changed. From 1990 to 1999, Agassi beat Becker ten out of the eleven times they met on court. It was as if Andre Agassi could read Becker’s mind. Or at least that is what Boris Becker thought.
Agassi wasn’t reading Becker’s mind, he was reading his tongue. After watching tape after tape, Agassi noticed a tick in Beckers’s serves. If Becker put his tongue to the middle then his serve would either go down the middle or towards the body of Agassi. If Beckers’s tongue went to the side, his serves would go out wide.
And the hardest part for Agassi? Not giving the game away. Agassi knew he could pick off Becker’s serve at will. Instead, Agassi held out and only picked off Becker’s serve at crucial points in games to turn the match in his favour.
Agassi beat Becker at will because he became an expert at his problem. Maybe it’s time to stop looking for the answers and get clear on the problem instead.