The Stuff

We have all heard that expression before. 'Championship stuff' or 'The stuff Champions are made of' but what exactly is the stuff and what makes it? Is it the ability to still compete in Slams when the rest of the field have caught up? Or is it winning a Slam for example in a baron spell? So many greats down the years have done this. Pete Sampras won his final Slam in 2002 after a run of 7 Slams without victory and no Masters Titles in that time. Boris Becker endured nearly 4 year drought in the Slams before winning the Australian Open in 1996. In that spell he won 2 Masters Series Titles. Mats Wilander had a 2 and half year drought in the Slams before winning 3 of them in 1988, but was still picking up victories in the Masters events. Andre Agassi endured a 4 year drought in the Slams. Won Gold at the Olympics in 1996, vanished off the tennis circuit before coming back in 1999 to complete the 'Career Slam' and got into the habbit of winning again. Roger Federer is now in what most fans would consider a baron spell. No titles since the WTF in 2010. It would be almost inconceivable that Roger would go a whole tennis season without any titles.

When tennis players and athletes alike go through these spells, is the experience of being a champion that inspires them to come out of a slump or hibernation to go on and start winning again? Does the taste of victory to champions become 2nd nature when they get the appetite for glory?

This quote I feel sums it up beautifully

"Even the best fall down sometimes. But only the best get right back up." Adam Brenerman