The Comeback

Something you may not know about me is that I am a huge fan of tennis, it's actually my favorite sport. (yes, more than soccer even though I'm a Brazilian) What I find fascinating is that it's a one on one sport, unless you play doubles. You spend days and months training with a coach and your team to get your body and mind and peak condition, but the moment you stand on the court it's just you. No one can help you. The opponent on the other side wants to win and he will be doing his best, so you can't really blame him if you mess up or that he hit the ball too hard. This is a match! You both came to win, so you have to own up to your mistakes, take responsibility, adapt, and find a way to win putting together all of the knowledge and training you have had until that match.

And that’s what makes a comeback fascinating. When you are down 1 set in a best of 3 or 2 sets in a best of 5, all hope is lost, and it seems like the locker room is calling for you, then all of a sudden you start to comeback. You begin hitting better shots, your opponent gets shaky, you feel lighter, you start to believe again, and before you know it you’ve won! You’ve done what many deemed impossible but was always a possibility if you just believed. That is actually what got me into tennis! I can’t remember his name but I watched this player, (I think he was from Argentina) it was the final set I believe and he had a chance to win, but he tripped and fell on the clay, they were playing on a clay court. He was given medical attention, his leg was bandaged and he got back into the match. I thought to myself, “No way…this guy is going to play on one leg?! He can’t possibly win.” Soon enough though, shots went in, his opponent started playing passively (maybe he felt bad for the guy), and he started to believe that he could win and he did! With one leg! Just hopping around and smacking that ball wherever he wanted. I got hooked and have loved playing tennis ever since.

As I began watching tennis, I began to admire who is considered the “King of Clay,” Rafael Nadal. His fiery passion and never give up attitude were amazing to watch and still is. He is still playing after 16 years! And this past week he played again Daniil Medvedev who he beat at the U.S. Open. The problem is he was playing at the ATP Finals which is an indoor tournament, a surface he struggles in. I tuned in to watch the match and he had lost the 1st set and I thought to myself, “well no surprise, it’s going to be a struggle and he might just lose.” I turned off the TV

and went to work. Later in the day I remembered to check the score on my phone and saw that Nadal pulled through with a 2-set comeback and won. I was so excited but then when I scrolled down, I saw the title of a news article say, “Nadal saves match point and comes back from 5-1.” I was in shock and began to watch the highlights. Indeed, Nadal’s opponent cornered him at 5-1 and needed one more point to win the match, but Nadal instead saved a game, won another, took the set to a tiebreak and won. He made what was considered a 1 in 1000 chance, reality.

However, what really impressed me was what said afterwards. In his press conference a journalist asked, “Is this a game that can easily be shown to young academies like yours and any other in the world and pass the message to the young guys that they should never quit, they should fight until the last point, is it one of those games?” And his response (which I will try to summarize) was, “No, examples are not for one day, examples are every day in my opinion. The example is not to come back. Of course, you need to be there and keep fighting. The example in my opinion is not to break a racket when you are down 5-1 in the third. Out of your self-control when things are not going the wrong way, just staying positive, staying on the court, accepting the opponent is playing a little better than you, and you accepting that you are not that good. Sometimes the frustration comes when you believe or consider yourself too good and you don’t accept the mistakes the you are doing. I know it isn’t often but I know I can make mistakes and I accept it. For me that is the only example I can leave to the guys. Don’t consider yourself too good to not accept the mistakes. Accept the mistakes, we all make them, and you need to keep going after the mistakes.”

This response, coming from a player who is considered one of the greatest to ever play the game, is amazing. Amazing because he teaches a crucial aspect to success that we all have access to, humility. It’s normal for people to complain when things don’t go as planned. It’s normal to want to punch someone or break a racket when you are angry. You didn’t get the job, the relationship you wanted didn’t want you, your dreams weren’t fulfilled, or you are still struggling with personal issues even after you prayed about it, it’s normal to want to give up and fall into despair. What’s worse is when we try to find someone to blame all of our problems on. Don’t do it. Don’t give up. You can make a comeback. You may not be able to turn the situation around 100 percent but you can control how you will respond to what is happening. The example is to accept what is happening around you, accept what part you had in it, don’t look for someone to blame, find ways to grow and move forward. Roger Hernandez in his book Failure is not Final, writes, “A mature person doesn’t concentrate on spending a lot of time trying to find out who caused the problem, but rather taking the necessary steps to correct the problem. Another way of saying it is this:

· People in denial ignore the problem.

· Unhealthy people complicate the problem.

· Childish people blame others for their problem.

· Mature people find a solution to the problem.

Believe me, it’s not easy and it takes a lot of humility. I imagine depending on the situation you might be right in blaming someone else. Brazil was losing to France for most of the game during the semis of the U-17 World Cup. Who was to blame for the offense not producing or the defense not protecting the goal? Easily Brazil could have lost their composure and given up on the match, we are talking about kids here, under the age of 17. Yet, even with the pressure of facing a powerhouse in France, in Brazil, and facing the reality they could lose, they never gave up and mounted an incredible comeback to win 3-2. I was floored. I was impressed with these young guys and how they kept on fighting. It was no surprise when Mexico cornered Brazil with 1 goal that they wouldn’t give up and turn it around. I will admit I was panicking until we got the penalty and then I saw the momentum swing and Lazaro scores to win the game off a beautiful volley. Great game but even more impressive was the maturity of these young men who will represent my nation in the future.

So what obstacles are you facing? What does the game look like for you? Do you think you can make a comeback? I believe so and I am claiming it for myself as well for 2020. I want to start mounting a comeback in my life and I want that for you too! Comebacks and turning around impossible situations are normal for God, but he can’t do anything if you won’t believe in him and in yourself. He’ll hold your hand but you need to look up to freedom. So, stay humble, accept what’s happening, adapt, and let’s start finding ways to win. The comeback starts now.