Tennis fan or not, the Gentleman’s Final of Wimbledon this year is one for the ages.  In a match that lasted almost five hours it becomes more about focus, fitness, and finding ways to win.  As an athlete (not just a tennis player) there was a lot to learn from this finale.

First, after dropping the first two sets Federer was able to regroup, reset himself and adapt his strategy to win the next two sets.  Being able to not only reset himself but understanding that he needed to make a change is more difficult than it seems, even for the #1 ranked player in the world.

Second, it’s important to understand that even though Nadal had Federer on the ropes and even had a few championship points that he made errors on Nadal still could have lost that match.  This is why they both had to have extreme focus and the ability to worry about the next point only.

Lastly, with further investigation it would be interesting to learn if nerves/anxiousness affected Federer more than usual.  He missed a good amount of shots that he usually nails.