Roger Federer’s Dartmouth Graduation Speech: Winning In Tennis — And In Life

Washington Post, For Tennis’s Greatest Winners, the Slimmest Margin Makes All the Difference:

Carlos Alcaraz embodies Roger Federer’s fundamental lesson: Tennis champions are defined not by the titles they win but by the points they lose.

There is no better place than Wimbledon to examine the slim difference between winners and pretenders. Centre Court is arguably the most exposing platform in all of sports; the players seem particularly alone, isolated 78 feet away from each other, outlined in their stark whites on that time-robbing green lawn. There are no sweating throngs of teammates to hide among, not even a caddie to blame. Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe looked as if they were in skivvies out there Friday afternoon. And the difference between them was vividly clear.

Roger Federer recently observed this: “Even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play,” he told Dartmouth graduates in a June commencement speech. Can this possibly be true? Yes, it’s an actual fact. According to ATP statistics, Federer won just 54 percent of the points he played. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have the same efficiency rate. Yet their 54 percents are good for a combined 66 Grand Slam titles.

Three or four percentage points, sometimes less. That’s the difference between a great and a chaser. Young Alcaraz wins just 53 percent of his points — but one percentage point was all he needed against Tiafoe. The 21-year-old Spaniard took just 51 percent of their points in the third-round encounter, a 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory. The advantage continually swung back and forth with the action on practically every other point, so fleet and soft-shoed across the grass. Check this out: By the time Alcaraz took a 2-1 lead in the fifth set, the two men had played 288 points — and the split was a dead-even 144-144.

But in the end, Alcaraz was living proof of what Federer told those Dartmouth grads. “The best in the world are not the best because they win every point,” Federer explained. “It’s because they know they’ll lose — again and again — and have learned how to deal with it.”

When Tiafoe recovers from his disappointment and gets around to analyzing how he relinquished his hold on a match in which he twice led by a set, he will want to examine the smallest percentages. Tiafoe has won 50 percent of the points he has played in his career. Three percentage points — that’s the difference between him and Alcaraz. Yet it represents the yawning difference between a multiple Grand Slam winner and a perennial quarterfinalist who is languishing at No. 29 in the world. And you can’t say that difference is due to talent. ...

Federer’s commencement speech ought to be required reading for all adults, not just Tiafoe. So often, the rest of us want a silver bullet, a grand solution, instead of the three percentage points. Such a small differential hardly seems important — until you see its real application and how those three percentage points compound over years for those willing to consistently seek them. “The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose,” Federer said. “… You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion.”

Inc., Roger Federer Just Gave the Best Graduation Speech I've Ever Heard. He Summed It All Up in Just 14 Words:

Federer's speech is an amazing case study in emotional intelligent speaking: It's funny, motivating, inspiring. It's emotionally moving. And most important, it has valuable takeaways--not just for graduates, but for anyone trying to succeed at life.

If you have 20 minutes, I highly recommend you listen to the speech in its entirety. But Federer himself summed up the speech in three main points and 14 words:

Effortless is a myth.
It's only a point.
Life is bigger than the court.

Let's analyze each point, and see how you can apply them to your life and business.

Daily Citizen, Roger Federer Goes Viral: ‘A Family is a Team’:

A professing Catholic and known to carefully navigate hot button political issues, Federer was true to form on the leafy New Hampshire campus. His thoughtful, heartfelt and inspiring remarks have gone viral. A video of the address has been viewed well over a million times. ...

Federer began his address by talking about how often sportswriters would cite his “effortless” play. “The truth is, I had to work very hard to make it look easy,” he confided. “Winning effortlessly is the ultimate achievement.”

Christian believers, especially, should embrace a diligent work ethic. The apostle Paul urged:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Col. 3:23-24).

Whether playing tennis on the worldwide stage at Wimbledon or volunteering at our local church, we should see our work as an extension of our worship. ...

"You can work harder than you thought possible and still lose. I have. The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job, it’s a roller coaster, with many ups and downs. ... The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It’s because they know they’ll lose again and again, and have learned how to deal with it. Cry it out if you need to, then force a smile. You move on. Be relentless. Adapt and grow. Work harder. Work smarter."

We’re not necessarily called to be successful. “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful,” urged Paul (1 Cor. 4:2). Faithfulness is the hinge on which our service swings.

New York Times, Roger Federer’s Graduation Speech Becomes an Online Hit

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