Blake Mott: I’m really just focused on enjoying moments
Blake Mott is targeting a return to professional tennis at Australian Pro Tour tournament in Cairns after being away from the sport for almost 2 years.
The 23 year old spoke about his return, he said, “A lot of it is a build-up of experiencing life outside the sport, and just getting familiar with not travelling constantly, having a bit of home life, getting that consistent balance.”
He further added, “But I think for me the (most significant) thing has been working with a lot of juniors, as a coach. I found a lot of passion again and a lot of drive to really be a good role model and inspire a lot of the kids that have touched me in many ways.
“If I can have the opportunity to play in another Grand Slam, I think my whole outlook would just be completely different.”
Mott and Barty are both the same age and share a friendship that goes long back. “I remember having a coffee with her when we were about 18, similar age when she stepped away and we were sort of relating to some of the difficulties (of life on tour),” Mott said.
“Obviously she was on a very big scale, playing Aussie Open at such an early age and having that exposure as the ‘next best thing’. To see her take that time away, even try another sport, it’s inspiring. Definitely had a lot of familiarities (relating her journey to what I was experiencing).”
If we take his appearances from the US Open this year, it would be three years since Mott left the sport. “Tennis players, we’re always looking at what’s next. What’s our next ranking goal? When you’re 1000, you want to get to 700. When you’re 700, you want to get to 400. And it doesn’t really stop.”
“Sometimes you don’t actually stop and appreciate the moment that you’re in. You just keep applying pressure to yourself to keep continuously growing, rather than more focusing on the competitive moment.”
Speaking about his plans for his comeback - “I’m not really focused, especially in the near future, on anything to do with rankings. I’m really just focused on enjoying moments,” he said.
“I needed to get to a place where I really wanted to play. To keep it simple. To really want to go out there and compete. I didn’t really put a time-frame on it to come back. I just said: well, if it comes it comes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. I’m happy to find what else is next for me.”
“The low (points) I look at a lot differently now, in the sense that I feel like they are actually what make the highs so great. When you persevere through those tough times in tough places or tough environments and then you get to the moments where you do break through and have those special moments, that’s the big thing I’m chasing.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2yh4ABm
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