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Novak Djokovic lost his match to Alexander Zverev in what would likely be the biggest shock of the Tennis competition at the games. But Why's that? I mean Zverev is ranked No 5 in the World and definitely is a quality player himself. Why then would this likely eclipse the Naomi Osaka loss for instance. The thing is the match had little to do with Zverev and a lot to do with Novak at least in the eyes of many spectators.

For a man who has been in the form of his life while arguably possessing the best skill set among active male Tennis players, not many saw him losing - especially considering he hadn't dropped a single set all Olympics.

There are few feelings more awful than losing in a situation where victory wasn't just possible, but expected. Getting beat by someone you know (or at least completely believe) to be her athletic superior can leave athletes with feelings of dejection, regret and even depression. Fancy words like 'upsets' and 'shocks' are used by the media to describe such events but to the athlete only one word comes to mind - disappointment.

So what causes these sporting phenomenon's that leave bookmakers stunned and betting companies happy? For an athlete in form losing is largely unexpected but if it does occur it will most likely be attributed to one or both of these two factors: the preparedness of the opponent or the psychological state (includes emotional balance) of the favored athlete.

The Preparedness of the Opponent

Competition is a whole lot different from training, and depending on the stakes involved there is every tendency that an opponent who goes in against a heavily favored athlete has done the necessarily homework to improve chances of an upset. Even for the most talented of athletes, there are flaws which appear in their game (even though they may not be visible to most) that can be studied and exploited in hopes of victory. Even at that, any strategy employed against a superior athlete will likely still require a sheer amount of luck to succeed.

The State of Mind of the Athlete

With so much Drama going into the Olympics for Naomi Osaka, there were concerns about what frame of mind she will be in to compete. Needless to say her defeat to an unseeded Vondrousova in the Third round of the Games Singles clash wasn't as shocking as it could've been. She made 32 Unforced errors during the match and wasn't looking like the hard-pressing amazon we know her to be on the court.

Another thing to consider is the performance was right in her home Country of Japan which definitely would've added some extra pressure to succeed (despite the empty arenas). .

Know

Some Athletes who do experience a dip during a competition are able to rally back for a Victory. This may be because they are able to pause and quickly put their minds back in other for a victory. Knowing when that kind of action is needed is a skill that is built by training. It is no wonder we increasingly have sports psychologists attached to athletes (particularly more successful ones).

The kind of state an athlete is in mentally can be all the difference between hitting or missing a desired target. How else do you explain how someone shooting accurately like Novak Djokovic was doing in the first round of his semi-final match suddenly dips in form instantaneously in the same match only to start losing. It is important to carry a healthy mindset not just into a game, but indeed through the entire duration of the competition.