Dear Coach, I FIND it very difficult to mentally stay calm during matchplay and am constantly beating myself up over the little things.Roger Federer and others always look so in control. Is there anything that I can do to help this?

ANSWER . . . BELIEVE me when I say that tennis is for a lot of people completely between the ears and that Mr Federer was not always so calm. He did in fact have a terrible reputation for throwing his racket and indeed his mental toys all over the court.

Something that I have used on many players in the past is the 'Three Rs'.

'Release' - let go of the previous point as it's gone and there's nothing more that can be done to alter the outcome. Let go of the racket from your playing hand and take a breath.

'Review' - calmly in your head go through how you won or lost the last point. Make it as positive as you can and assess how the damage was done and what can be done to correct this for the next point.

'Reset' - Steady your breathing, step up to the line and get ready for the next point as that's what matters next.

All of the above is obviously easier said than done, but if you watch any tennis on TV you will clearly see most players going through some kind of physical ritual. They towel off at the back of the court, play with their racket strings or just walk to the back fencing to remove themselves slightly from the situation.

What we can't HEAR, though, is the player's thought process as they prepare to compete again.

I hope that this helps.