The Reality of Luck

Following on from the Myth of Talent -

If we presume that there is a genetic predisposition to be good at tennis e.g. innate hand-to-eye coordination that people are born with, then those people are just born lucky. OK, they then work hard to capitalise on that luck, but without the 'lucky genes', then the hard work would not get them as far.

So the next time we say a player was unlucky to lose a match - perhaps they were lucky to even be playing the match to begin with. On the day, they simply weren't as lucky as the other guy.

I think in terms of luck it is either for me a jammy frame or a net chord.

Anyone I think can recall such occasions. Take Ferrer v Djokovic. Ferrer had 3 BP's in the 2nd set to break back and Djokovic caught a net chord. Take Murray v Federer Gold Medal match in the 2nd set he got 2 successive net chords against Federer to break.

I think luck comes in waves. I recall Lopez in each of the TB's getting net chords during rallies.

I certainly have been the victim of such luck and also the beneficiary of them too.

Murray v Nadal W 2010 second set TB. The Nadal CC BH which clipped the tape and frustrated Murray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIt0MzSDQj0

Obviously there will be luck during matches.
All I'm saying is that if we accept the premise that Federer, say, was born with a natural, innate, genetic 'talent' for tennis, then he was lucky to have that.

JuliusHMarx wrote:Obviously there will be luck during matches.
All I'm saying is that if we accept the premise that Federer, say, was born with a natural, innate, genetic 'talent' for tennis, then he was lucky to have that.

Ah I see.

I think of it more as C'est La Vie. Everyone is unique and they certainly have traits and talents which are not necessarily replicated.

I think of it as more of a way of the world and that it is our uniqueness that separates us as individuals.

Federer born 8 Aug 1981, considered 'lucky by the Chinese calendar.

This (or at least the role of chance in everyday life) has been the subject of a book by Ed Smith, former England test cricketer - his own story is that he went to a school with a very solid cricket tradition (simply based on luck of geography), got picked up from there for a County and was just breaking through for England when he suffered a bad injury that curtailed his career.

His attitude was - it was good luck that he had some talent for batting, then further good luck that he got into a school where this would be developed, then bad luck that he had an injury-curtailed career.

Of course there is also Gary Player's comment that 'the more I practice the luckier I get' - has some truth, although doesn't acount for the difference of one net cord ball sailing wide ant the next just flopping dead over the net.

laverfan wrote:Federer born 8 Aug 1981, considered 'lucky by the Chinese calendar.

It's a weak era luck.

Nore Staat wrote:

laverfan wrote:Federer born 8 Aug 1981, considered 'lucky by the Chinese calendar.

It's a weak era luck.

Argh !!!! Your not allowed to speak about that.