Fenty Downs Mayo to Win USTA's Boys 14s Les Petits As Playoff; Can These Three Words Stop Choking?

The three-day playoff for two spots on the USTA's boys team that will travel to Bolton and Tarbes in January was completed today in Boca Raton, Florida.  Andrew Fenty defeated Keenan Mayo 6-4, 6-1 in the match that concluded the competition for those born in 2000, with both players reserving their places on the team.  Adam Neff, the top-ranked player born in 2001, was also included in the the playoff. The other two players who will travel to the Teen Tennis and Les Petits As tournaments will be selected by the USTA at a later date. 

Fenty, who trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., went 5-0 in the playoff. Thursday's complete results are below:

Finals:
Andrew Fenty def. Keenan Mayo 6-4, 6-1


Semifinals:
Keenan Mayo def. Robert Baylon 7-5, 6-1
Andrew Fenty def. Roscoe Bellamy 6-4, 6-2
3rd place match:
Roscoe Bellamy def. Robert Baylon 6-3, 6-3

Consolation :
Axel Nefve def. Adam Neff 6-4,6-3
Brain Shi def. RJ Fresen 6-3,6-4

5th place match :
Brian Shi vs Axel Nefve .....Unfinished due to rain

7th place match :
Adam Neff vs RJ Fresen....Unfinished due to rain


Dan Coyle, the author of The Talent Code, posted the results of a recent study of performance under pressure on his blog. Ambushed into singing karaoke, subjects were asked to say one of three three-word phrases prior to taking the stage:  "I am calm," "I am anxious," or "I am excited."  They were then graded on their performance. The calm group peformed the worst, followed by the anxious, with the excited group getting the best scores. 

Coyle discusses the possible reasons for these results and what they might mean for anyone seeking to control their emotions under stress. Tennis has plenty of situations where there could come in handy, so take a moment to read the entire post.