The greatest clay court champions, from Bjorn Borg to Rafael Nadal and from Chris Evert to Justine Henin, have shown true grit. From their preparation to their performance, they have displayed extraordinary passion and perseverance. More than any other court surface, clay rewards these traits.
On her highly praised and compelling book, Grit: The Power and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth writes: “Why were the highly accomplished so dogged in their pursuits? For most, there was no realistic expectation of ever catching up to their ambitions. In their own eyes, they were never good enough. They were the opposite of complacent. And yet, in a very real sense, they were satisfied with being unsatisfied. Each was chasing something of unparalleled interest and importance, and it was the chase — as much as the capture — that was gratifying. Even if some of the things they had to do were boring, or frustrating, or even painful, they wouldn’t dream of giving up. Their passion was enduring.
“In sum, no matter the domain, the highly successful had a kind of ferocious determination that played out in two ways,” explains Dr. Duckworth, a MacArthur Fellow and groundbreaking researcher. “First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction.
“It was this combination of passion and perseverance that made high achievers special. In a word, they had grit.”
The greatest clay court champions, from Bjorn Borg to Rafael Nadal and from Chris Evert to Justine Henin, have shown true grit. From their preparation to their performance, they have displayed extraordinary passion and perseverance. More than any other court surface, clay rewards these traits. Combined, they equal competitiveness. The Greats enjoy the hard yards of training, but they live for the competition.
This story is from the May 28, 2016 edition of Sportstar.
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This story is from the May 28, 2016 edition of Sportstar.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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