Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates winning the second set against Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro during their Davis Cup final reverse singles rubber at the Olympic Stadium in Seville December 4, 2011. REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo

2011 Davis Cup Champion Rafael Nadal of Spain: Positive Energy

Rafael Nadal brilliantly utilized the positive energy and emotion of his country’s support to defeat the defiant Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (0) in just over 4 hours to clinch the 2011 Davis Cup Final for Spain. The most pivotal moment in the match came early in the second set. At 1-6, 0-1 (love-40), Rafa Nadal faced a large mountain and in usual fashion, he figured out a way.

Davis Cup Captain Albert Costa of Spain said, “You know Rafa is Rafa. He is a winner.”

Nadal’s first and most important play was to effectively use positive emotion from the crowd’s tremendous support to reengage himself back into the match. As his positive energy picked up, his feet started to move like the wind and his game quickly followed. Rafa used the energy from the crowd and translated it into enthusiasm, which effectively brought his confidence and belief to a ‘Relaxed Intensity.’ In that mindset Rafa was able to strike the perfect balance between a calm mind and a tremendous physical effort. When he needed it most Rafa was able to raise his level of play to completely turn the match around and eventually clinch the Davis Cup for Spain.

For much of 2011, Rafa has been seemingly passionless for his standards. When looking back at this moment Rafa will see that he must always remember that a positive thought process is the only road to victory. Congratulations Rafa.

When competing in your next match remember that a positive attitude means that even when things seem all uphill you must still believe in your game. If you ‘Act-As-If’ on the outside, you will certainly begin to believe it on the inside. Be the champion that you’ve always wanted to be!

- Parsa Samii, GEM Tennis