Stop trying to finish fancy, or finish strong, and just finish.

A win is a win.

I’ve watched some great tennis matches as part of the Australian Open this past week and noticed something interesting.

Carlos Alcaraz seems to want to finish in style. He keeps pushing for the drop shot or dramatic close that would make a great highlight reel, but ends up with unforced errors that draw out the match.

Ben Shelton seems to want to finish strong, establishing dominance and making a statement with the final point. Even after a few missed match points, he still closed the match against O’Connell with a serve & volley combo.

Each won their respective match, but to me, it looked like they could have finished sooner if they had focused on safer shots at the end.

Don’t get me wrong, these are talented, fun to watch players, and taking risks with a big shot is part of the game.

What’s the takeaway?

There’s nothing wrong with making safer choices when you’re tired, especially if you’re at risk of shooting yourself in the foot.

When you’re near the finish line and there’s a chance you could muck it up, don’t finish fancy, just finish. 🏁