TennisNH

Cressy: 'I Don't Put Any Limits On Myself'

01-Feb-2023 19:04:00 | ATP World Tour

Maxime Cressy is famous for his unique serve-and-volley tactics, an old-school style that stands out in the modern game. The Paris-born American also has a distinctive approach to the mental side of the sport, utilising a mindset that meshes with his aggressive play.

"My mentality is definitely unique," Cressy told the ATP Tour in a recent on-camera interview, crediting his volleyball-playing mother and his two older brothers for helping develop his competitive spirit. "I put a lot of emphasis on what I can control, on my serve, on being the most efficient serve-and-volley player.

"This is what scares my opponents the most, to be focussed on myself and not on them."

[ATP APP]

With full confidence in his approach, the 25-year-old has never shied away from setting lofty targets. After transforming himself from a "bench player" at UCLA to one of college tennis' best, he sees no reason not to aim for the stars on the ATP Tour.

"My main goal is to be No. 1 and dominate the Tour," said Cressy, who reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 31 last August. "I don't put any limits on myself and I haven't until now. That's why I got to this level, and I believe that this mindset is going to carry me to a lot more success."

He later added: "I can just visualise who I want to be and when. I have huge faith in that goal-setting. I've been doing it every single year for the past four, five years, and most of my goals have been coming true."

To reach his increasingly ambitious targets, Cressy is doubling down on what some would call a high-risk strategy of all-out attack. But for him, there is no other way.

"The big factor mentally, I would say, is to become so used to playing a risky game that it doesn't become risky in your perception," he shared. "The key to reach the next level is to stick to my serve-and-volley game, what is working. I've played the serve and volley and the big serve so many times that now it's just natural and a part of me. I don't consider my game a risky game today because I'm so used to it."

Cressy won 88.8 per cent of his service games in the 2022 ATP Tour season, good for fifth on the leaderboard. But he broke serve in just 13.2 per cent of return games, placing him 76th on the Tour and providing a key opportunity for growth. 

"I believe the next step is to really get my return game stronger," he said. "I think on the return I need to have a different mindset, a mindset to make the opponent play more and I need to, like the top players, make a lot of balls in play. I believe I can do it."