Marty Riessen, who won two Grand Slam doubles titles and seven mixed doubles titles, was one of the players I admired most on tour. Riessen was an athlete first and a tennis player second. He didn’t have the most natural or fluid strokes, but he was strong and quick, and worked hard on and off the court.
Riessen’s dedication and attitude made him the best player he could be. When he felt like one of his shots needed work, he attacked it relentlessly until it got better. He was great at setting goals and sticking to them, and that’s something most players can improve on. Identify a problem, make a plan to fix it and then stick to it. Persistence will help your game a lot more than a new racquet, new strings or new shoes.
Another thing I loved about Riessen was that he always remained humble, no matter how high his ranking was. I wasn’t a top-of-the-line player in my day, and there were some players who had no interest in practicing with me, but Riessen always agreed to hit. That’s a great lesson for club players. No matter how much better you are than a fellow player, you can probably gain something from a hit. It’s just a matter of identifying what you want to work on, and then going out and doing it.