When Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling in the 2009 French Open, he said the reason was he had “lost my calm.”

He also said this:

“Well, that’s the end of the road, and I have to accept it. I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm.”

Cut to: the ATP World Cup final, where Nadal lost all three matches last year, but beat Andy Roddick in the first round this year.

Nadal:

“To finally win a match here is very important for me . . . I can play with a little bit more calm the next match”

The next match is against Novak Djokovic.

The calm before the storm?