With sports stars, including the top tennis players in the world, reaching heights never before thought achievable, and players able to reach very similar levels of ability and talent (take, for example, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer), the difference between success and failure at the top is increasingly being put down to an ability to control temperament when it really counts.
With stars at the top level of all sports increasingly turning to sports psychologists in order to help them keep their cool and take control of the mental aspects of their game, with a prime example of the success this can generate being Arsenals victory against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, the use of a psychologist is perhaps something that both Serena Williams and Andy Roddick could have done with recently; both players saw US Open exits (granted Serenas last year being the more severe incident) aided by a loss of composure at the key moment.