Australian Open: The Flow and Mindset of Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tomorrow Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open 2023 final. A few days ago, the Greek was a guest on the Mind, Set, Win podcast and spoke to Cédric Dumont, a former BASE jumper (skydiving from fixed objects) and performance psychologist, about his mentality and flow status. How you too can use the flow phenomenon.
by Victoria Moser
last edit:
Jan 28, 2023, 09:15 am
In the 16-minute podcast episode, the Greek talked about how he caught up the 0-2 sets deficit in his 5-set thriller against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open 2021 and made the match 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 , 6:4, 7:5. "I lost a lot of my games not because of my physical condition, but because of my mental attitude," said the Athenian. "It felt like I was locked in a cage and someone decided to unlock that cage and suddenly I felt free. Every decision I made felt absolutely right," he said of his comeback at Melbourne Park. "I dropped all my expectations and tried to focus on the moment and make the most of it. [...] Everything felt like it made sense. [...] Everything happens automatically, whatever you want to do, you don't have to think about it anymore."
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6o1GQvGeTsZtqYxAUUdQUK?si=6648bb8ab3734a88
theory of flow
The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi named and researched the phenomenon of flow in the 70s. Many who have dealt with positive psychology or performance enhancement may have stumbled across the term. It's about mastering a task that neither under nor overwhelms us in a state of complete dedication. You are completely in the present moment and forget space and time.
How do we get into the flow state?
Theoretically that's all well and good, but how can we put ourselves in such a state, regardless of whether it's in sports, at work or in our free time? Cédric Dumont explains that the most important thing is not to force the flow. Getting into this flow is a matter of practice. However, there are things that can be helpful. So you should set a very clear goal and avoid distractions as much as possible. Achieving flow requires constant practice and great concentration on the task.
Tsitsipas fans can hope that the Greek will get into the flow jams in the final against Djokovic tomorrow and good luck trying it out!