Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis--Lessons from a Master

by Brad Gilbert

6. Tiebreaker Tactics During the 1993 A.T.P. tournament in San Francisco I had to play a total of three tiebreakers. I won them all, including one in the finals against Andre Agassi. My success in those tiebreakers and others was because I had a plan. Here it is. I think of a tiebreak as a mini-set. Everything is compressed, but the components of a set are all still present. During a tiebreak you serve for the first time and receive serve for the first time. You need to break serve (a mini-break) to win. The tiebreak has a Dictate Game (or Dictate Points) at its beginning, it has the Set-up Point, and it often requires that you hold a lead or stop the tiebreak from slipping away. The dynamics are very similar to those in a regular set, but condensed and more potent. Because the results of a tiebreaker decide who wins the set and because it’s so compressed I’m extremely aware of the tempo of the match during this period: D.R.M. is my watchword. Playing quickly and carelessly can immediately put you at a disadvantage from which you won’t recover. Three double faults in the third game of the first set may only cost you the game. Do the same during a tiebreak and the consequences will almost always be much more severe.